Out and About at the Zoo

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My international best selling children's picture story book Out and About at the Zoo is free 26th and 27th June 2014- Grab your copy now at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008ND8CB0

Here's just a few of the reviews others have left on the book:

5.0 out of 5 stars

Great for the Grandkids! May 31, 2012

By Jan Verhoeff

Format:Paperback

This is a fun, short book for the grandkids! If you love reading to your children or grandchildren, this book will become a family favorite quite fast. The simple wording and bright interaction of characters makes it easy for very young readers and exciting for toddlers still listening.

Jo puts some serious thought into toddler reactions and includes those in the book. My favorite part was the last page, because my toddlers decided immediately that we needed to take a trip to the Denver Zoo. "Yay!!! I get to see the elephants!" (Okay, that part was ME not them. But they get to go too.)

5.0 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Book for Kids! August 17, 2012

By Victoria Marshal

Format:Paperback

As a mom I can tell you there is no better compliment to a children's book than to have your child say, "read it again" when you finish reading a book. This is exactly what happened when I finished reading Out and About at the Zoo to my 3-year-old.

The story is a short one and I'm sure from the title you can guess what it's about. My little one couldn't get enough of the friendly, illustrated animals that inhabit Ms. Linsdell's zoo. Unlike some illustrated children s books that look like they're trying to win a modern art prize; Ms. Linsdell's illustrations are very approachable for children. The story is uncomplicated, which makes it easy for younger readers to follow along.

Overall, Out and About at the Zoo is a fun read for kids, which makes it priceless for this mom. ~V

5.0 out of 5 stars

Its all Happening at the Zoo June 11, 2012

By Bennet Pomerantz VINE VOICE

Format:Paperback

I review many books. When I see a children's picture book, I tend to savor the artistic way the writer and the artist tend to mesh. Sometimes its the blending that makes a simple child's book something really worth reading.

Out and About at the Zoo is a combination of the artist and the writer being the same person Jo Linsdell. She crafted a very cute and adorable children's volume. This simple children's book with bright colors of animals from the zoo is crisp in it poetic delivery.The art sparkles in its simple characters of the zoo animals.

Ms Linsdell seems to know her target audience and gives them a bright a images for them to enjoy. These young children will delight in this books rhythms that come from its verses and art. It is a good book to give for those young and young at heart.

Once you've read the book please leave a quick review of your own on the Amazon page to let me know what you thought of it.

Happy reading!

Video is big news. YouTube is one the most popular sites on the internet and that means that, as writers, we should be there to connect with our audience.

So what kind of video content does a writer put out there? This is the big question that stumps a lot of us and stops us from venturing into this medium. The good news is that coming up with content ideas isn't that hard. Here's a few ideas to get you started:

Book video trailers
Behind the scenes clips showing the creative process from idea to finished product
Author interviews
Book reviews
Product reviews
Announcements and info about upcoming events
Summary and feedback about events you've taken part in
Quotes or other things that inspire you
Webinars and how to
On the go stuff live from events
Panel discussions with other authors

These are just a few off the top of my head but as you can see it's quite easy to find things to talk about. Video's don't need to be super long either. In fact, short 1 minute clips go down well.

The next problem that commonly pops up is how to film. Of course you want to look professional but not everyone has their own private film studio. Good news is that you don't need one.

This is my film studio A.K.A. the corner of my bedroom:

Nothing fancy. Just a little corner with good light and little clutter.

My bedroom window is directly opposite the white wall and so I get the perfect light in that area. I try to keep that corner clutter free so even when the rest of the house gets turned upside down (I have two young boys. Upside down is a huge understatement!), I still have my space for filming.

I usually use large plastic storage boxes that I have on shelves in my bedroom to place my laptop on. Yep no fancy video camera. I just use the webcam on my laptop. The reason I place my laptop on top of boxes is so that the angle of the camera looks slightly down on me. It's a more flattering angle than directly facing or from below ;) It means I have to look slightly upwards and that helps to keep eye contact with the camera too.

I either upload the video directly to YouTube or, if needed, I add in some graphics. I usually make these as slides using Adobe Illustrator and then insert them as images. Again no fancy software. I just use Windows Movie Maker. It's simple but does the job.

Google+ hangouts make creating video content even easier. You just live stream to your YouTube channel.

As YouTube has built in editing features you can always tweak your video right there on site to adjust lighting etc...

So, what video content would you like to see from me? What's your filming studio like? Any tips to share for creating good video content? Leave a comment below and chip in your 2 cents.

This time of year is always super busy. With two young children, my calendar is full of school plays and a wide variety of other end of year activities. Then of course are the usual birthday parties and other social gatherings. As school is now out for my 6 year old (the 2 year old finishes later on this month), I'm also in full on summer mode coming up with fun things to do.

I'm one of those people that tend to go from very white to very red, and then back to a slightly less white. At the moment I'm in the very red stage following our first trip to the beach.

Note to self: Be as good about putting sun scream on your own back as you are with the kids. Lobster is not a good look.

All this offline fun hasn't stopped me from working though...OK I'm working less at the moment but even I need some time off once in a while ;) I am preparing for my next release though. How to be Twittertastic will be released this July and so I have plenty of work to do.

The release of a book takes time and effort. I'm not just talking about getting the final product ready for publication either. All authors want their book to be a huge success right from the word go. In order for that to happen you need to put the work in BEFORE it goes to print.

This month I'm working on my pre-release prep and promotion. So far I've done an exclusive cover reveal during the Promo Day event on 31st May followed by an official cover reveal on 2nd June where I was hosted on blogs and social media sites.

I've also started my social media campaign by updating my Facebook page banner. This is the post that went out with the update:

Post by Jo Linsdell.

I'll be starting to prepare for the virtual book tour to promote the release over the next week or two which will include, guest posts, interviews, book spotlights, reviews, and more. If you'd like to be one of the first to sign up to host me during the tour please let a comment below or drop me an email. The tour will run over the whole month of July.

Title: New Beginnings

Author: Christine Meunier

ISBN: 978-0-9875332-2-7

Purchasing links:
http://www.freereinseries.com/
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/christinemeunier

Book blurb:

New Beginnings

A job transfer for Jacqui King’s father means that the 10 year old and her family have moved interstate. Jacqui is excited that the move has allowed her family to take up a lease on a large property.

Since she could remember, Jacqui King has had a love for horses. Now with the family’s move she wonders if her dream to learn to horse ride could come true. Jacqui’s mum Kate plans to turn the property into a place where they can offer horse agistment, only concreting Jacqui’s desire to have a horse of her own.

On a property titled Genesis, it does indeed seem that the new beginnings for the King family are looking promising.

Author bio:

Christine Meunier considers herself introduced to the wonderful world of horses at the late age of 13 when her parents agreed to lease a horse for her. She started experiencing horses via books from a young age and continues to do so, but recognises that horses cannot be learnt solely from books.

She has been studying horses from age 16, starting with the Certificate II in Horse Studies and is currently undertaking her Bachelor of Equine Science via distance education.

She has worked at numerous Thoroughbred Studs in North East Victoria before following her passion for breeding horses over to the Irish National Stud in Kildare.

She then gained experience in a couple of Melbourne based horse riding schools, instructing at a basic level before heading off overseas again, this time to South Africa to spend hours in the saddle of endurance and trail horses on the Wild Coast.

Particularly passionate about the world of breeding horses, she teaches equine studies focused on breeding, at TAFE.

Debut Novel
July of 2013 Christine released her debut novel Horse Country. It is a novel for the older reader that follows four women working in the horse industry over a 6 year period.

Author website:
http://equus-blog.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/FreeReinSeries

Mini Interview:

Why did you write this book?
After the release of Horse Country – A World of Horses, a desire to create a series about horses for pre-teens formed. I wanted to be able to teach younger readers about the joys of owning and caring for horses, and impart information about the Christian faith with it. So started the first two books in the Free Rein series.

Anything in particular you'd like to share about this book or it's creation?
I’m really excited to be able to continue a series, rather than have a standalone novel! It is my hope that I can gain readers that will be excited to learn and grow alongside the characters Jacqui, Geordie and Hannah.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I am working on the third novel in the Free Rein series that I hope to release in 2014 and a stand alone novel about a women who moves to a tropical island with her husband and plans to import horses that aren’t natural habitants to the island.