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First Lines Fridays



Books: First Lines Fridays


Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.


I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves. 

What is First Lines Fridays?

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? 

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page 
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 
  • Finally… reveal the book!

My Pick For This Week


The first lines of the book:


The news hit the British High Commission in Nairobi at nine-thirty on a Monday morning. Sandy Woodrow took it like a bullet, jaw rigid, chest out, smack through his divided English heart. He was standing. That much he afterwards remembered. He was standing and the internal phone was piping. He was reaching for something, he heard the piping so he checked himself in order to stretch down and fish the receiver off the desk and say 'Woodrow'. Or maybe, 'Woodrow here.'


Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!


First Lines Fridays




And the book is...

The Constant Gardener by John le Carré


About the book


Book synopsis for The Constant Gardener by John le Carré

The beautiful Tessa Quayle is murdered near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, the birthplace of mankind. And her putative African lover and travelling companion has vanished from the scene of the crime. Tessa’s husband, a career diplomat and amateur gardener at the British High Commission in Nairobi, sets out on a personal odyssey in pursuit of the killers and their motive. On his way he meets terror, violence, and conspiracy, but his greatest discovery is the woman he barely had time to love.


Buy now



Where to find The Constant Gardener by John le Carré online: 

 
Amazon affiliate link

Goodreads



First Lines Fridays


Have you read this book?


You might also like: Book Spotlight: The Grass Widow by Vanessa Edwards



    

Book Review Spelled by Betsy Schow


Books: My thoughts about Spelled by Betsy Schow

Book Review of Book 1 in The Storymakers Series


Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.



About the Book

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00SG8TG3K Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sourcebooks Fire Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 2, 2015 Print length ‏ : ‎ 353 pages

The book synopsis for Spelled by Betsy Schow

Spelled by Betsy Schow book cover
Somewhere over the rainbow, all spell is about to break loose in the first installment of this clever and hilarious YA fairy tale retelling trilogy, perfect for fans of Dorothy Must Die and Jen Calonita's Fairy Tale Reform School series

Fairy Tale Survival Rule #32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.

Yeah, no thanks. Dorothea is completely princed out. Sure, being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the not-so-charming prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.

Talk about unhappily ever after.

Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse...before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.

Fast-paced and delightfully unique, Spelled is perfect for readers looking for:

  • a new twist on the Wizard of Oz
  • fairy tale retellings and mashups
  • whimsical fantasy for tweens and teens
  • dynamic and relatable heroines with snark

The Storymakers Series:

Spelled (Book 1)

Wanted (Book 2)

Banished (Book 3)



You might also like: Best Reads of 2023


Review


Jo Linsdell 5 Star Award


Discussing Spelled by Betsy Schow




buy now


Where to find Spelled by Betsy Schow online:


 Amazon affiliate link

Goodreads


Want to know what others thought about this book? Check out these book reviews:

  • This book was so far from what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. I was expected a loose retelling of The Wizard of Oz and while all my favorite elements are there, it isn’t a retelling at all. - Read the full review at Mom With A Reading Problem
  • Overall, this book was epic beyond words – seriously, I had so much trouble finding the right words for this review, it’s not even funny. This review in no way does this book justice. - Read the full review at Pandora's Books
  • The story is well written and engaging; the fast pace makes it quite the page turner, and the author presents just enough at the right time that we are able to follow within getting either lost or feel drowned. - Read the full review at Sahar's Blog 


Book Review Spelled by Betsy Schow



You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers


Are you a book blogger? Check out 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

 

44 Tips For Bloggers



Blogging: 44 Tips For Bloggers

Practical Blogging Tips to Boost Your Content and Grow Your Audience

In this post, I’ve compiled 44 practical tips designed to help you write better, grow your audience, and stand out in the crowded blogosphere. These actionable tips cover everything from content creation and SEO to promoting your blog and building a community. 

Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.


But first things first... It's my birthday! Today I'm levelling up to 44! 

As a way to celebrate reaching this life milestone I thought it would be a good opportunity to share with you 44 tips and tricks I've picked up over the years about one of my favourite topics i.e. blogging.

If you've been here before you'll already know that blogging is one of my passionate topics. I first started blogging way back in 2006 and after several other blogs started www.JoLinsdell.com in 2012. I know, it's been a while 😰

If you want to boost your content and grow your audience as a blogger, here are some practical tips to help you out:

  1. Be passionate about your blog topics.
  2. Be yourself. Show your personality in your posts.
  3. Use a professional looking template.
  4. Make sure your site is mobile friendly.
  5. Make navigation easy. Keep a well organised menu and search bar. 
  6. Include social share buttons on all your posts.
  7. Be consistent. Find a posting schedule that works for you. 
  8. Don't over do it with ads and pop-ups. 
  9. Include external links in your posts. Make them open in a new tab so it doesn't effect bounce rate. 
  10. Make friends with other bloggers.
  11. Collaborate with other bloggers on posts. Team work makes the dream work! 
  12. Use keywords in your posts.
  13. Use meta data and alt tags on all posts.
  14. Include images in your posts.
  15. Make sure all your posts include internal links to other related posts on your site. 
  16. Make sure all posts are reader friendly. 
  17. Create multiple pins for every blog post and schedule them on Pinterest.
  18. Share all new blog posts to your social media profiles.
  19. Don't just share new blog posts. Share older blog posts too.
  20. Update older blog posts to keep them fresh and relevant.
  21. Reply to all comments.
  22. Guest post on other blogs.
  23. Do a blog audit at least once a year.
  24. Make sure you include legal disclaimers and policies on your blog.
  25. Use analytics to monitor metrics for your blog. 
  26. Be patient. Success rarely (if ever) happens overnight.  
  27. Develop your brand. Name, niche, logo, colours, etc... Have a strong identity that readers will recognise.
  28. Get an SSL Certificate for your site.
  29. Use a content calendar. 
  30. Regularly check for broken links.
  31. SEO the URL of each post.
  32. Use headings and sub-headings in posts. 
  33. Always include disclosures for sponsored posts, free products, affiliate links etc... It's a legal requirement.
  34. Create templates for images to go with your posts. I use Canva but there are lots of options available. It makes it super quick and easy to have branded images for all your posts.
  35. Create templates for posts you do on a regular basis e.g. I post a lot of book spotlights. I have a template saved I use for these which means I just have to fill out the various parts of the post and add the images. This is a big time saver.
  36. Batch posts when possible and schedule in advance. 
  37. Use relevant hashtags when promoting your posts on social media.
  38. Find your tribe. Connect and network with people in your niche.
  39. Filter spam comments and remove as soon as possible.
  40. Concentrate on evergreen content.
  41. Make sure you have submitted a sitemap to Google.
  42. Optimise your post titles. 
  43. Have a media kit for your site. It makes promotion and working with sponsors so much easier, and makes you look more professional.
  44. Have fun! This is probably the most important. When you enjoy what you're doing you do it with enthusiasm, you stay motivated, and feel inspired. All that will show in your content.
So there you have it, my 44 tips for bloggers. I hope you find these useful and if you have any questions about any of them please feel free to ask in the comments section below. 


You might also like: Things That Should Be In Every Blog Post


44 Tips For Bloggers



You might also like: Things You Can Do To Grow Your Blog This Weekend



     

Book Review Ten Tangled Tales Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe


Books: My thoughts about Ten Tangled Tales: Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe


Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.



About the Book

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08RX52Z6X Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pixie Print Publishing Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 2021 Print length ‏ : ‎ 204 pages

The book synopsis for Ten Tangled Tales: Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe

Ten Tangled Tales Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe book cover

Unsettling short stories from Unheard Voices 
These short stories traverse through the lives of ten ordinary individuals living in the USA and India (Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Varanasi and remote Arunachal Pradesh) but they all have one thing in common - their unexpected and convoluted reality. Sometimes regular life can be wicked! Hello Sunshine! In Minnesota, amidst the Covid19 pandemic, a neighborhood is scared about a different omen of death. What can be worse than the pandemic itself? Mirror Mirror on the wall A story unfolds in suburban Mumbai, leaving everyone perplexed. There is a schizophrenic husband with an illicit affair, and there is his crazy wife, who is supposedly hatching a plan to kill him. Who are they really? Only their mirror seems to know. Two truths and a lie In an affluent Kolkata neighborhood, an old man recites a story about the famous Kohinoor diamond, forcing the protagonist to question the present narrative. The Perfect Storm On a stormy night in remote Arunachal Pradesh, a lady in distress, a lone driver, and an escaped psychopath cross path momentarily. Who will survive this short encounter? And More. 

If you love reading books by Roald Dahl and Ruskin Bond, you will love these twisted tales. *** "Intriguing collection with a surprising twist. Highly recommended for literature collections for the contemporary Indian writings." - Midwest Book Reviews "It is a short story reader’s delight! All stories cover a range of emotions, experiences, and settings; giving one the sensation of seeing a great deal of the world and the people who inhabit it, without moving an inch. A great satisfying collection all in all!" - Ushasi Sen Basu – Author Kathputli & A Killer Amongst Us "Suduhita has beautifully penned the various facets of human life in urban societies through love, marriage, agony, jealousy, conspiracy, and human psychology." - Prof. Tamo Mibang, Former Vice-Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi Central University.


You might also like: Best Reads of 2023


Review

3 stars

Discussing Ten Tangled Tales: Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe




buy now


Where to find Ten Tangled Tales: Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe online:


 Amazon affiliate link

Goodreads



Book Review Ten Tangled Tales Short Stories by Suduhita Mitra Sankhe



You might also like: The Ultimate Guide for Book Bloggers


Are you a book blogger? Check out 101 Blog Post Ideas For Book Bloggers

  

First Lines Fridays


Books: First Lines Fridays

Judging a book by it's opening lines


Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.


I'm participating in First Lines Fridays as I think it's a great way to highlight more of the books that are on my bookshelves. 

What is First Lines Fridays?

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? 

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page 
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first 
  • Finally… reveal the book!

My Pick For This Week


The first lines of the book:


When I was seventeen, my life changed forever.
I know that there are people who wonder abut me when I say this. They look at me strangely as if trying to fathom what could have happened back then, though I seldom bother to explain. Because I've lived here for most of my life, I don't feel that I have to unless it's on my terms, and that would take more time than most people are willing to give me. 



Do you know which book this is from? Scroll down to find out!


First Lines Fridays



And the book is...


A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks



About the book


Book synopsis for A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

Every April, when the wind blows from the sea and mingles with the scent of lilacs, Landon Carter remembers his last year at Beaufort High. It was 1958, and Landon had already dated a girl or two. He even swore that he had once been in love. Certainly the last person in town he thought he'd fall for was Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's Baptist minister. A quiet girl who always carried a Bible with her schoolbooks, Jamie seemed content living in a world apart from the other teens. She took care of her widowed father, rescued hurt animals, and helped out at the local orphanage. No boy had ever asked her out. Landon would never have dreamed of it. Then a twist of fate made Jamie his partner for the homecoming dance, and Landon Carter's life would never be the same. Being with Jamie would show him the depths of the human heart and lead him to a decision so stunning it would send him irrevocably on the road to manhood...



Buy now



Where to find A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks online: 

 
Amazon affiliate link

Goodreads


First Lines Fridays


Have you read this book?


You might also like: Book Review: Tea for Three by Melissa Crosby




Product Review L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1


Product Review: L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1

A Blonde Hair Box Dye Review

Those of you that read my August Wrap Up will know that I had quite the hair adventure last month. From cutting my hair to trying several different hair dyes to bleaching it... twice... I put my hair through a lot. 

The last thing I did to try and resolve my 'hair situation' was use L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1 hair dye.


Disclosure: The FTC Disclosure Provision is a law that requires influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product or service. So please know that if I'm not making money through affiliate links/sponsored content on the post you're currently reading, it's an oversight on my part and will be corrected soon. Read the full disclosure about all the legal stuff here.


Product Review L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1



You might also like: A Guide To Different Hair Dye Colours: Tried and Tested

Product details


L'Oréal Excellence Crème Permanent Hair Colour helps to colour your hair with a permanent, rich, bright, vibrant and long-lasting colour, from the roots to the ends.

  • Permanent hair dye with triple advanced protection, pro-keratine, protective actives, neutral pH cleansing base and nourishing actives 
  • Provides 100% grey coverage
  • Protects your hair while colouring 
  • Delivers a rich, intense, shiny and long-lasting colour 
  • Includes 1 colouring cream, 1 shampoo and 1 nourishing mask

Product Review L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1


You might also like: Product Review: L’Oréal Elvive Bond Repair Leave-In Serum



Review


As my starting colour was a yellow with some orange tones still left after bleaching my hair and I really didn't want to have to bleach my hair again, I decided to try the Light Ash Blonde. The reason being that 'hair science' i.e. the colour wheel tells us that in order to neutralise yellow/orange tones you need to use blue and violent tones. 

With hints of grey, violet, and blue, ash blonde falls under the cool-toned colour making it the perfect choice to beat the brassy tones.
 
L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1 worked like a charm! Although the end colour was slightly darker than I had expected it evened out the various shades of yellow and orange giving me a shade of ash blonde I can leave the house with without the need for a hat. 

As the colour will no doubt fade slightly over the next week or two making it just right, I'm very happy with the result. 

It also left my hair feeling soft and smooth. 

So if you too have created a hair nightmare but don't want to bleach your hair again, know that this is a great option. 


Product Review: L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1 - Before and After



What is your favourite shade of ash blonde? Have you ever had to save a hair colour disaster? How did you balance out the brassy tones? 



Product Review L'Oreal Excellence Cream Light Ash Blonde 8.1


Click here for more hair and beauty related reviews and posts.


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ABOUT ME

Jo Linsdell - Author and Lifestyle Blogger
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