Visual Thesaurus and Word Maps

I recently discovered a very cool tool! Great for writers and other wordsmiths, also fun for anyone who likes to see the relationships between words.

It's called and it's a lot of fun. Especially when you are looking for that perfect word.

Give it a try!

Out of Africa in Sedona Arizona

Just returned from a short visit to Sedona Arizona. Here's a Smilebox from one of my 'ventures.'

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Helium - Writing for Fun and Profit

I've just discovered (through clicking a Google Adword on my own business blog askjoanne.blogspot.com) a site called Helium.com. Their tag line is - a directory of real-world knowledge powered by people like you.

It's a place where you can write articles on virtually any topic and get paid a commission for them - the more the articles are viewed, the more you can get paid.

I will be writing more about this as I find out more, but I just wanted to share this quick tidbit because it looks like a fun place to share your viewpoint.

It's a Lulu!

While reading a great book about business marketing called The Long Tail I found out about a book self-publishing site called www.Lulu.com. It's a way for people who want to publish books that may not necessarily have mass market appeal, but would have a very targeted niche market.

This is what the Long Tail of business marketing is all about - the internet is changing the face of business - the author's claim is that the future of business is about selling less of more.

Any Good Books Lately?

So, I've discovered that the main problem after starting a blog is keeping it up. This is my first post to this blog (aside from Judy's Book updates) since June 2006!

I'm making a new committment to try to get something posted on a more regular basis and today's post is about good books I've recently read.

I know I am a bit behind the times, but I had not, until recently read any of Maeve Binchy's books. My mother-in-law gave me a paperback of The Return Journey and I was hooked. My favorites so far are: Circle of Friends and Firefly Summer.

Have you read any good books or discovered any great authors lately?