So, it started out like this. My mother decided to buy a Nook a few weeks ago. And then, after hearing me tell her about all the authors who give away free books or offer very reasonably priced novels, she couldn’t find any. Now, she’s not exactly technically savvy, so in complete frustration with her, I went onto the B&N site to look myself.

One thing that B&N does is try very hard to hide its cheap and free books. Try navigating around on your nook to find them. It’s a pain. It’s certainly not impossible and my mother should have been able to do it, but it does take a little effort.

This got me to thinking about the plethora of Amazon/Kindle sites out there devoted to promoting cheap kindle reads. They are huge promotional machines. I’ve seen indie authors shoot up onto the lists just because they were featured on a Pixel of Ink or Kindle Lovers or somesuch. But a quick google search for an equivalent Nook Book site I could send my mom to yielded…um…nothing.

Obviously, there’s a hole in the market, so I aim to fill it. Together with Eliza Knight, we’ve started a new Nook Lover’s site just in time for all those folks who are opening their Christmas presents and finding Nooks under the tree. Sites like these take a little time to build so we’re not charging anything for anyone to be featured there. In fact, if you are featured now, when the site is still tiny, we will feature you again when we’re booming, at no cost.

So do you guys have any feedback or advice to give? Anybody want to try it out?

Guest post by Michelle Grogan

Do you have an idea for a great story percolating just below the surface but you’re having trouble getting it out of your head and down onto paper? Yeah, I’ve been there – plenty of times. I know what I want. I know what I want to say. But it’s just not ready to step out into the light of day. But this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t still keep those juices of creativity flowing. The best way I have found to do this is to find random prompts – sometimes those prompts can manifest into some great stories of their own.

Now, it’s easy to become bogged down in all the prompts that are out there and lose focus on why you want to use prompts in the first place. And of course, it’s not always easy to find one that appeals to you. Well, I’m here to alleviate some of those worries!!! In my search for a stock of prompts that I could store away in a file for when I needed to that hit of inspiration to get those stubborn creative juices flowing, I came across this great website dedicated to prompts of all kinds!!

Check out Creative Writing Prompts. At first glance it might not look like much – I mean the sheer number of prompts being offered – 346 – can be a little overwhelming, but not let that scare you. The fun comes when you hover your pointer icon over one of the numbers and a prompt pops up for you! Clicking on the number will move it to the number one spot. There are prompts for all kinds of writers! Not sure how to start that amazing story in your head? Hover over number 113 – Begin with “Today I will . . .” and write for 10 minutes. Play with the idea of writing a poem? Move your mouse to number 103 – Create a poem using Emily Dickinson’s “Bring me the sunset in a cup” as a starting point. Want to challenge yourself? Check out number 24 – Imagine your life is now a book. In 100 words, write the blurb for it; or number 122 – Use all these words in a poem: crash, crumpled paper, straw, gravel, ochre; even try number 143 – In 200 words, describe a day in the life of a window washer . . . hey, you never know, the window washer can be the witness to a major crime and has to describe what he was doing and what he saw.

So don’t sweat it if when you sit down to write, you draw a blank or you need a moment away from your story because you’re struggling with it or need to find a new direction to go. Settle in with a good prompt and you’ll soon find that the ideas are flowing faster than you can keep up with them!!

In fact, I’m going to take some of my own advice – I’ve been feeling a little stuck creatively, think I’ll hop on over and settle in with a good prompt.

Happy writing!! J

Bio: By day, Michelle Grogan is a Literacy Coach working with students with learning/behavioral/emotional disorders improve their reading and writing skills; by night–she’s the self-published author of Forbidden Love (currently in kindle format on Amazon.com) living with her fiance in Westchester County. Reading has always brought get joy to Michelle’s life, allowing her to experience new worlds and meet a plethora of new characters. Her love of reading lead to her love of writing and creating her own characters and discovering their stories. As a child, those stories were acted out with Barbies and My Little Ponies . . . as she got older, she put pen to paper and embarked on her own writing journey. Still an avid reading, Michelle’s favorite authors include James Patterson, Andrew Gross, Rachel Vincent, Jordan Dane, James Rollins, among so many others!!

This flow chart looks chaotic, but probably leads to Zen…

It’s the Baltimore Book Festival and it’s next weekend! I’ll be there, and if you’re an aspiring author, you should be there too.