Inspiration: Balloons!

This week I have been in a complete creative rut. I don't know what it is, but I guess sometimes the inspiration just doesn't flow.

That's translated in my writing, blogging, crafting...you get the point.

This three-day weekend, I'm dedicating my time to rekindling that creativity. Lots of playing, resting and unscheduled fun in store for me! (Oh, and of course the premiere of Arrested Development! Who else is excited?)

Anyway, tonight I had this big urge to look at balloons, which led to my new Pinterest board cleverly entitled "Balloons!" I don't know what it is, but they really do inspire me. They've got it all: fun, color, air! They're just a blast and I like them! And so I thought I might as well share some of my favorites with you.

You can find all the original owners of the pictures and check out the rest of the board here. Or hey, maybe we could even be Pinterest pals (here).

—Holli Anne

Interview: Edward Fieder Photography

Edward Fieder is photographer and, over here at Almost There, we love his work. I'm happy to call him a friend and even happier to talk photography with him!

We hope you enjoy this week's interview!

Tell us a little about yourself. (Your degree, hometown, cool facts, etc.)

Well, my name is Edward Fieder and I'm a photographer! I'm 26 years old and graduated from Troy University with a degree in Design, Technology, and Innovations with a contract in photography and I'm currently living in, and from Montgomery, AL. Some cool facts about me...are...I'm a type one diabetic, I love the movie Scott Pilgrim, and play soccer...thats cool right?

Is your passion photography?
Yes, without a doubt my passion is photography...though I'd like to start playing with video too. Out of everything I learned about design in college its not really "my thing." Sure, I know and can do design work, but I'd much rather be holding a camera in front of my face.

When did you realize that photography was for you?

Honestly, I figured photography was something I wanted to do while in college. I used to think having the title of "photographer" was earned and I still kind of do. I didn't really think I earned the title until about my third photography class at Troy and when I started working with the schools photography department. I then got some awards for it and I knew this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

What is a career goal that you are currently working towards?
My current career goal is to really just make photography my full time job. I would much rather it be with a company that could use what I have to offer because I really want to be a part of a team instead of freelance my entire life. Freelancing is great and all but in college I learned how to work with others and I really miss that aspect of working on projects. The only thing that keeps me company with projects now are Pandora, and Netflix playing in the background as I edit images.

What's the most expensive camera you've ever had?
Most expensive camera I've ever had is my current camera...Nikons D4. The camera is a BEAST and I love it!

Give us the deets: What's in your camera bag?

Whats in my camera bag...here we go. Nikon D4 Body, Nikon 28-300 f/3.5-5.6, Nikon 50mm f/1.4, Nikon 14-24 f/2.8, Nikon Fisheye 10.5 f/2.8, 2 Nikon SB-600 Flash's, and a Nikon SB-800 Flash.

This is just whats in my backpack and is camera gear...Im not even going to get into cords, chargers, memory cards, or studio lights and diffusers I own.

We LOVE your 365 Project. What inspired you to do one?
Thats a good question. I saw people do it before and an old room mate told me about the projects. It seemed like it would be a lot of fun to do and try out so we decided we would try and tackle it together....and we failed...MISERABLY! It was strong there for awhile but as the year progressed it got really stale. During the summer was the worst because we went off and did our own thing and there were just too many distractions for a college kid during the summer to really wanna concentrate on producing quality work every...day...I managed to make it to September but school work became too much and I just couldn't keep up. If you're in college, and you want to do this, it's going to be hard...fair warning.

We definitely have a few favorites from 365 so far, what are some of YOUR favorites?

Oh boy...some of my favorites...lemme see...I love January 1, January 14, Jan 20, March 5, April 11, April 12, April 24, and May 3.

There would be more...but after a few weeks of looking at my work I tend to start ripping it apart and looking at things I need to change or would've done differently.

Aside from 365, what's your favorite picture that you've ever taken?

For some reason I feel that the picture of the Troy quad that looks like a hurricane is about to hit it is my favorite. Its one of my first images that I was noticed for and people were trying to find out who took it. It was made into a poster for the girls basketball team and I've sold quite a bit of prints from it. Even more importantly I look at that image and think of all the amazing times I had and things I learned from the University in those 3 short years. It's more of an emotional image to me more than anything.

Do you have a favorite photographer that you follow?

I have 2 photographers that I follow. They are Zack Arias, and Trey Ratcliff. I look at a lot of photographers work...but those are the 2 I really keep up with.

While taking the pictures is a big part of being photographer, people forget that editing is a big part too. How long does it usually take to edit a picture and what do you use?

This is a question I can't really answer. It depends on the image really. April 11 picture took me a around an hour and a half to complete but April 12 picture took me 5 minutes. Some images I only have to throw in some contrast and color adjustments and others I have to remove things, dodge and burn, make selections then make adjustments to those selections, then mask some things and remix them with other images, there's a ton of things I can do to an image and ultimately it depends on what I'm trying to make.

Are you planning on working any future projects you'd like to tell us about?
I'm actually in the process of getting funds to start a photo book about diabetes. Well, its not really about diabetes, but its a photo book showing diabetics doing whatever it is they do. See, back in the day when I was diagnosed I FUHREAKED out. I cried and was scared and all that stuff. I thought a bunch of terrible things that weren't true and I NEVER WANT A KID TO FEEL THE WAY I DID EVERRRRRR AGAINNNN. So, I want to make this book with a bunch of pictures of awesome diabetics doing awesome things with a general awesomeness so when kids are diagnosed with diabetes they can look at this book and hopefully it'll show them that they are just like everyone else and it will kind of keep them at ease. Does that make sense?

What advice would you give to aspiring photographers out there?

Do not give up! There are going to be good days and bad days. Days you think you suck and days you think you're doing ok. You will over think your images and rip them a part. You will compare your photography to others and you'll want to give up some days and do something else. If you really want to do this...YOU CAN NEVER give up.

Link us up! What sites and social media accounts should we be following if we want more of your awesome photography?

Well there's...Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and of course...my website.

-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)

Inspiration: Making Your Book Real

Writing a book, no matter the content, can feel unreal at times. Sure you can sit down at your laptop and write and write until your fingers cramp and you get a small headache behind your eyes, but that doesn't mean it feels real yet. You're just another person with another story. Anyone can sit down and write nonsense.

However, not everyone will get published.

This thought can be a daunting, self-damning one that keeps you from pushing yourself that much harder to complete your book. I know because I've been writing a book series for more than seven years and, if you Google my name, you won't see the credits to a best-selling book series attached to it.

It's not that I don't have faith in my characters, the plots, or the writing...I just had a hard time getting my figurative feet moving forward.

Until recently when I found inspiration in myself.

A week or so ago I self-published a writing prompt book (go here) and, while the intricacies of publishing alone made me feel like I was being productive, it was the final preview that made it real. It showed me how the book would look on a Kindle and I got to turn the pages to my own story made public.

The Dark Side of Writing: 35 Writing Prompts is not my main writing project, however, it made me want to see how my novel-in-progress would look on an eReader. I converted the files and sent it to my Nook. There I was able to read everything I had written via my lovely Nookina.

It inspired me all the way from my hair to my toes! Seeing it how others would (hopefully) view it made everything very real. It gave me that push I needed and I have written more in the past week than I have in the past two months combined! It is my heartfelt advice for you to do the same.

The following instructions are how I converted my Word .doc (or .docx) to an ePub file:

Note: I didn't get intense with formatting since I just really wanted to read the content. I'll have another post on here soon about how to format a word document the best way for an eReader. All I did was bold my new chapter headings. 

1. Open up your .doc or .docx and Save As .htm. If you don't have a title for your book, then go ahead and give it a temporary one.

2. I went to Calibre.com and downloaded a free version of their program here. It's an eBook management program that can convert an .htm file to an ePub one. (ePub files can be viewed on eReaders.)

3. Open up Calibre and go to Add books on the top left then Add books from a single directory. Once you click this you will be able to chose the .htm file you saved.




4. Your file will show up in the Calibre main screen. It should be above Calibre's Quick Start Guide. Select your file until it's highlighted blue and go up to Convert books, then Convert individually.

5. A new screen will pop up and, if you really want, you can fill out all of the details. Seeing as mine was a crazy rough draft I left everything as it was and just hit OK. This starts the conversion process. It shouldn't take more than a minute depending on its size.

Now you have an ePub file that can be read on your eReader. All you have to do is search your computer for the file name!

Don't know how to send the ePub file to your eReader?

For Kindle
Connect your Kindle device to your computer. Once it is recognized you will see a new icon at the top of Calibre called Send to Device. Click to highlight the ePub books you want to send to your Kindle and click Send to Device. You will be asked to auto convert. Do it!

Once the job is done, disconnect your Kindle.

For Nook

I like the whole drag and drop process. Connect your Nook and take your new ePub file and drag that sucker to your Nook's Documents. Drop it in and then disconnect!

It may seem complicated but it's super easy and highly effective! Seeing your book on an eReader may give you that pesky push and dose of inspiration you need to finish your book!

Enjoy!
-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)

Dinner Party Fun: In-Home Hibachi

Last July 4, ironically, some of our friends introduced us to the concept of homestyle Hibachi. MIND BLOWN.

It was seriously one of the more fun dinner experiences we've ever had. It's perfect for a quaint dinner party or even a fun date night, which is what we did last night. Because the food cooks slowly in front of you, it ends up taking a couple hours to go through the meal and what better conversation piece than cooking your own food?!

Another great perk is that there is very little you have to do ahead of time to prepare for the feast. 

All you need is a table top griddle (in our case used on the floor), whatever meats and vegetables you want, oil and a side of rice or noodles, if that's how you roll. (It's how we roll!)

We also had some asian sauces (soy sauce, thai peanut and a hot chili sauce that was OH, so hot!) 

The only preparation is cutting up the veggies and meat (marinaded if you choose) and cooking the rice. 

Whether you are using a table top or the floor, just make sure you put some newspaper underneath to catch any splattering. Then you just turn that sucker on and get busy cooking. Enjoy your company and the end result!

Has anyone ever had a dinner party like this or done homestyle hibachi?

—Holli Anne

Fan Fiction Authors, Become Published!

Oh sweet mother of fan fiction, my day just got a few Elena and Damon shippers better.

Amazon just made me one happy nerd.

It should be no surprise to you that I used to be crazy into writing and reading fan fiction over at Fanfiction.net. In fact, my very old account is still active with stories about Kingdom Hearts and Inuyasha.

Yeah, yeah, I know I didn't finish them but give me a break. I was young and a closet fan fiction FANATIC. I remember being absolutely obsessed with Harry Potter stories in which Hermione and *gasp* Draco got together. Crazy right?

Not really. I came across several stories in which the user created chapter after chapter of compelling content and wonderful character continuity that would have J.K. Rolling question if she had actually written it or not. Sure, there were some stories I read that were riddled with spelling and grammatical errors and just flat out bad writing. Some just wanted to be in the story so badly they made their own character and traipsed through the fictional halls of Hogwarts with an unforgivable arrogance.  However, those few stories that actually surpassed all of my high, Harry Potter expectations made me want Draco and Hermione to get together. They did research in the previous books, they kept everything in the already established world J.K. Rolling created going smoothly, and they made me wait on pins and needles for the next chapter.

Why is that such big deal?

Well, Amazon just debuted a licensed publishing program for fan fiction.

Be still my nerdy, little heart.

This, in the simplest of terms, means that you fan fiction writers out there might be able to be published and earn royalties doing so. Now, this new program won't support every fan work--not all copyrighted franchises are a part of it.

However, according to a Publisher's Weekly post, Amazon Publishing has negotiated licensing agreements in advance with such properties as L.J  Smith's Vampire Diaries and Warner Bros. These, along with other copyright holders, will support Kindle Worlds.

Kindle Worlds is a new commercial publishing program that will enable fans to create original works based on established franchises...aka the fan fiction you write up. According to this post, June is when Kindle Worlds self-publishing portal will be available for fan to upload their fan fiction.

Kindle Worlds will allow writers to sell their stories in the Kindle store under a broad licensing agreement that will pay both the fans AND the copyright holders. Under that license, Amazon will pay the license holders a royalty and will also pay the fan fiction author a 35% royally of net revenue for stories of at least 10,000 words. This is based on list price, not wholesale. You will get paid royalties monthly.

Did it just get hot in here? Because I just broke out into a very excited sweat. Too much info? Too bad, I'm over the moon about this new turn in the publishing world.

I will keep everyone updated on the list of the copyright holders that decide to throw in with this new program. Will you write a fan fiction and submit it?

Which franchise are you hoping will be included in the program?

-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)

Easy Recipe: Lemon Strawberry Puffs

I recently made a big, but important, food discovery: puff pastry. There are so many possibilities! 

For this particular possibility, I made these Lemon Strawberry Puffs. They are so simple and so satisfying, especially at a luncheon or hors d'oeuvres type party (which is what I used them for).

Anyway, here's all you need to know about this tasty lemon strawberry treat, though I'm sure you could substitute almost any flavor here if those don't match your cup of tea!

Ingredients:

• Puff Pastry
• Lemon Curd
• Strawberry Preserves
• Sugar
• Confectioners Sugar
• Margarine/Butter

I used a store bought puff pastry and simply laid out the sheets and cut into rectangles and squares. Then I put a sprinkle of sugar over them and baked for around 13-15 minutes.

Once they cooled, I opened the puff pastry in the middle and spread some with just lemon, some with just strawberry and some with both. I was really generous with these so there would be lots of flavor in them. Then I used melted margarine and just basted a tiny bit on the top and sprinkled confectioners sugar on them.

That's it! They were so tasty and such a simple alternative to a lemon square (though, I won't say they are a match for them because let's be real, they aren't!) 

If you are looking for a simple party food, this just might do the trick for you! For you food cookers out there, anyone made any awesome things using puff pastry?

—Holli Anne

Pinterest Love: The Baker

No surprise that I love me some Pinterest. It's one of the first sites I visit when I start up my lovely little Mac. Out of all of the social media sites I use, Pinterest is my favorite. I repin for me and me only. Lately though, I've been getting an influx of followers and that couldn't make me happier.

So, to incorporate more Pinterest in your life and mine, I've decided to do one post a week that focuses on the addicting and amazing site.

I'm calling it Pinterest Love and each week I'll search a word or phrase and make a board using some of the results. Sound boring? Nope! It's fun!

For this week's Pinterest Love I searched "The Baker." The top picture and the following mini board are my favorites from the results!

Hope you enjoy!

To find these individual pins, go here to my new Pinterest Love board. You can trace them all back to their original owners that way. My Pinterest profile can be found here.

-Tyler Anne (aka Chick Tyler)