Bri Clark's Blog, page 28

Yes I am on social media a lot. I get asked this question often. " Why do you post the same thing multiple times a day?" The easiest answer is it's my job and it's how I market what I do. My platform as an author, i.e. my blog, books that I have released, other blogs, articles or people in the industry that I think have valid and insightful info I will post and re post frequently. (Although sorry about that double posts within like 2 minutes of each other. I was made aware of that and I think I have it turned off now.) So with this post I hope to offer some ideas and also explain the reason behind not only multiple post but the timing of those posts.


When people have numerous friends posts can get buried. This is why I post several times what I want people to see that day. There are some key times of day to post. I'll explain them below.

The Early Birds: 5-7 AM: These are the people who get on before work or schoolJust Got To Work: 8-10 AM: These are the people who as soon as they clock in and before they even begin working must do a quick social media check.Lunch Time: 11-1 PM: This is quite literal. These are the people on their lunch break combing the social networks via their phone or laptop while they gulp down lunch.After School: 2-4 PM: These are they kids or adults who have been at school and are literally jonesing for a social media fix.After Work: 5-6 PM: These are the people who get off work and instead of starting dinner, laundry or kids homework they would rather get lost in the gossip of Twitter and Facebook. (that's me)Nightowls: 7-midnight: These are the people who stay up way late hoping to the be the first to jump on a juicy new youtube video or some breaking gossip. At Astraea I tend to try and market our YA novels at this time of day. Because teens like to stay up late. I hope this explains why I do what I do and I hope that my friends will be patient with my marketing efforts. And on occasion if they feel impressed share a post or two. So have any of you become annoyed or ever wondered about the multiple posts?

So it's the third week of bootcamp. What I have learned?
When I work out I make better choices when it comes to food.Just moving is better than not at all.However for progress to be made you need to have a rigorous one hour workout at least 5 days a week.If I don't do it first thing in the morning I won't do it at all.Only weigh yourself once a week. If you look at the your body and can tell a difference that's what matters. Not what the scale says. It's about feeling good.

So I have reached 29. What's so significant about that? Well if you would have been around when I was 15 you'd have heard me say I probably wouldn't live that long and I was serious. I was wild. Hung out with drug dealers, gang bangers and wanna be thugs. Let me tell you a wanna be is a whole lot more dangerous than a real one.

In birthdays past/teen years I have usually been the designated driver because the excuse to party was my birthday only I was never a big drinker. If you asked me what my favorite birthday was I wouldn't tell ya. Frankly I can't remember them.


What am I doing to celebrate my 29th?  I haven't cooked a meal in 3 days. My husband took me to dinner Friday night/date night and then we came home and I read until midnight. Did the same thing again last night. So far my husband has cooked pancakes for breakfast with bacon and I've been drowning in facebook birthday wishes. It's great. Oh and I've lost 5 lbs that is even radder. Of course I have gained it all back after that breakfast. LOL.

Over the last year so much has happened some amazing and beautiful people have become friends and colleagues. Then there is my family and friends who have always been in no short supply. Thank you all for the love and support and for helping me reach 29.

Bri

 So I've been blogging for a year now and guest blogging for just as long. In my experience I have found there are some expectations of manners that people think but have never put out there that I can find. They are all perfectly acceptable but sometimes we get so busy we don't even think of them. Here are my list of Guest Blogging Etiquette Expectations to practice. FYI I learned these the hard way...as in I was the rude one sometimes.




 Turn In At Least Three Days Prior to Publication: By doing this your host can know they can count on your post. They have time to look it over and if revisions are needed or suggestions arise you both have time to go over them. Editing Should Only Be Done by The Author: Unless otherwise noted or permission given you always have the right to expect that you are the one editing your work if revisions need to be made.Keep It Short: This is especially true if they are posting author bio, author picture, buy links, book jackets and info. The average blog readers attention/time span is short...Remember that.Make it Viral: You know the blogger host is marketing her post through her social networks you should do the same. Has anyone else had experience in guest blogging they want to share? Good, bad, or the ugly....

So it's my first full week of Boot Camp. I missed Friday cause my little germs I mean kids got me sick. So this week of camp is actually Spring Break. Yes I'm still getting up at 5 am on Spring Break. It really is amazing. I get a lot done around the house and the kids sleep it. Well if I can at least make them stay in their rooms. I'm hooking up a TV and DVD player in the little girls room tonight. They are the worst. Let's do a short update on the fitness, food and weight loss. 

Food: So I emailed my food log to my trainer.  With the amount of exercise I do and being a pretty active person anyway I eat about 2,000 cal a day. Jess, the trainer, looks at my log and says to me, "I want you to eat all the colors of the rainbow pertaining to fruits and vegetables. If you do this you will not need snacks like Goldfish." I responded with..."But Goldfish are the colors of the rainbow." He laughed and then said to follow his suggestions. I being the control freak I am decided to start on Monday. LOLFitness: So the lunges don't hurt anymore and I'm even doing push ups and planks without my knees at times. I've gone beyond that being soar to having more energy phase. I'm so excited it only took 7 days. And 3 I had off! LOLWeight loss: So I am pleased to say that I can tell I've lost weight in my arms, legs and my my stomach. Shirts that were tight in the upper arms are comfortable now and those thigh tight jeans I have are comfy too. But the stomach thing that's the funny part. My belly fat now has dimples .Who knew?! So I'm pressing forward and really enjoying boot camp. I have to say if it wasn't for my partner Rochelle I'd bailed by now. She's such a motivator. So anyone out there getting ready for summer with some exercise?

I have two photographs in my office...the rest are paintings or prints. One is of my husband and I in 2007 and I'm like 30 lb's smaller. I believe it's the first time he outweighed me. Anyways the other is the one you see to the left. It's of me and 5 other women who went away for a conference one year ago this April.  It's also one of the most significant experiences of my life. Therefore as the one year anniversary looms it needed to go up on Significant Sunday.






Boy what a difference a year can make! In this picture everything I am wearing was either bought for me by someone or was a hand me down. We were so broke that I didn't even have money to buy clothes at the thrift store. My family and I had just moved into a small two bedroom apartment, our oldest son had just got sent away for personal problems, my husband didn't have a steady job and life was pretty bleak. Although I put on a brave face, well more like a joking facade, I spent a lot of time on my knees. So how did I afford to go on a trip to a conference in another state? This is where the charity case part comes up.

I'm approached by two of the women who say do you want to go to The BYU Women's Conference in Provo UT? ( yeah I know I thought BYU was in SLC too) I was elated. It was one of the things I had hoped I could one day do now that I lived closer in ID. Alas I told her I had no money to attend. Her response was there's been a scholarship awarded and your lodging, travel and ticket expenses have been paid.

So me and 5 dear women loaded up in a white Toyata Sienna and headed to Utah. Each of our situations were very different. Economic, financial, social and even familial were all very different. The binding fiber that grounded each of us was a desire to please God, a love for one another and an anthem learned within the doors of many a Relief Society meeting that "Charity Never Faileth."



Going to that conference was like a healing balm to a decaying soul. I'll forever be thankful to those women and that week that taught me to be a Lioness at the Gate. 

Bri

I know! I know! Yet another vampire book. However, hear me out. Read the synopsis, then check out my thoughts before you discredit it.

Disclaimer: This is the brooding vampire type not the sparkly and this is a sensual romance for my sweets readers. 


Synopsis


All her life, Seattle reporter Kristin Reed sought her breakout story. She never thought she'd find it in the crimson lair of a real-life creature of the night. Kristin never believed vampires existed—until with dark brooding eyes and a decadent chocolate scent, Dmitri Dionotte called out to her….
Dmitri and his clan's true nature was cloaked in secrecy until a warring vampire order threatened their existence. Kristin was just the woman he needed. She couldn't resist their story…or Dmitri. Her blood pulsed hot and furious when he touched her, and with his kiss, all logic fled. But each night she spent with her vampire lover brought her closer to death and destruction. A death not even an immortal could triumph over.





Review My first impression when I read the description was "chocolate scent?" However, after reading the story Theresa did a great job incorporating elements of her own making in this story. Although I've never been to Seattle I was impressed with the imagery and feeling of history she implemented into the story. The heat believe Kristin and Dimitri was great, the chemistry better and the ending....what you thought I was going to give it away. You will have to read it yourself and see. I read The Truth About Vampires in like 2 nights and was sad to see it end. However, the pain was short lived cause it seems this will be a series. This novel is one that you will come back and read again and again. Great Job Theresa.

 How do you guys feel about vamps sparkly or sharkly?

So if you are following the blog then you know that I started a fitness boot camp Monday. If you don't then here's where it began. So something that I have always known is that with working out comes inspiration. When I wrote my first novel I would walk 40 miles a week listening to my play lists and the ideas would just explode. Now that I am really engulfed in marketing, editing, blogging, and writing I find yet another use for fitness. It gets you up, moving and motivated.


The first day of my boot camp I woke up at 4:50AM got ready, worked out from 5:30-6:30 came home and collapsed. LOL ate a high protein breakfast, took a shower then got to work. I wrote 5 blog posts was all over twitter and facebook, answered emails and even did a little reading all before 10 AM. This is awesome. But what am I going to do when boot camp is over!!! EEK

What about you...do you have a workout routine?

Bri

So this is the first Tuesday of the boot camp series. This is also only day two of 4 weeks. How am I doing? Do I feel so hungry I may knaw one of my arms off? (Honestly that does serve two purposes I would lose weight and take care of my hunger.) Do we secretly curse our instructor as he sits in his chair and yells at us and blows his little whistle and eats a donut? (utoh...I used the d word. I hope my trainer doesn't make me do push ups cause I technically didn't say it I typed it.)



No! None of those things are true. Jesse Judd from Aventura Fitness the trainer we have for Adventure Boot Camp. (I know that's a lot of plugs. I'm hoping if I get him some business I'll get a discount for another round.That's right I already want to go another 4 weeks.) is totally hands on and motivating. He keeps a good relaxed but challenging pace. If you need water or a bathroom break you take it. All the women there are supportive and none of them rub in they are more fit than you cause at one point I didn't know if I was rocking or rolling. I really was impressed at how Jesse made it a point to walk around and make sure he knew everyones name. Can't wait to do more.

Let's hear it...anyone ever done a fitness boot camp? Considering it?


Bri

This is not me. But where I was heading. Scary?!After going all day (with a sickly child I might add) missing church, snuggling with her, doing laundry, cleaning, reading and napping I finally figured out what I could post. Tomorrow will be my first day at Meridian Adventure Boot Camp for women. Thanks to citysmart.com I got a 4 week boot camp for a ridiculously low price. So excited. Yes I'm totally stoked to get up at 5:30am for 5 days a week for 4 weeks. I am giddy happy to be required to not say the words hoho, donut, ding dong or candy bar on pain of 20 push ups. I am motivated to keep a food journal that I have to turn in every Wednesday that is a recording of every minute thing that I have ate.

 I have gained 5 extra pounds this week because I knew this day was coming and I have pigged out royally. I'm just ready for a change. Some of you may ask what are my weight loss goals. Honestly the goal is to establish a weekly workout routine at a set time and stick to it while being aware of the food I put in my body in order to feel better. The plan is to blog about the progress every Tuesday.  Until then....