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“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising”

As I strolled through the prairie, I stumbled across the most enchanting fairy. Transparent wings and a sparkling wand, a soft silky dress she made me respond. Surprised and amazed I just stood there and dazed into her eyes, wondering if she came down from above the skies. I wondered if all that is happening can be true, so I started to ask a question or two. Are u real? Or are you fake? Am I asleep? Or am I awake? I pinched my arm so hard it started to ache. Then I seen the most beautiful sight. The fairy started to glow a rainbow of light. She spoke to me, her words polite … She said”please do not wake up its a dark night, I will always be there for you.” Then she disappeared out of sight. Now I realize it was just a dream, but in the dream world I have her on my team. EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elahmadi_Goba

Freelance SEO writer Roy Daniel DSilva sent the following (very long) comment to a blog post I wrote about freelance job scams. I’ve broken up the comment by adding some tips on how to prevent this from happening to you with notes entitled, “My Take.” Be careful accepting jobs everybody. As freelance writers, we work hard enough without having to worry about being scammed. Mr. DSilva wrote: The Biggest Cheat There Ever Was, Is And Will Be - Elliott Leee I am sure what I am going to say now will shake off the socks of every content writer present in the world. This is the bitterest experience anyone can ever have, so be warned. I have been mightily cheated by Elliott Leee, and I call upon everyone to be very vigilant about this person. Here’s my story. I am a freelance writer and this Elliott Leee contacted me through one of them (job site). His username is richuser2008 there (later I found out he has one more username richuser2009 also, on the same site). Okay, he contracted me to do 100 articles in 2 days for him. The articles were of 500 words each, and on various topics. The payment decided for them was $600. Normally, freelance sites allow for escrow, and I prefer that mode, but this Elliott Leee said he will not escrow because he didn’t have funds. Still, I needed the money, so I accepted the work. I have a kid aged 1.5 years and parents aged 61 and 73 years to look after. So I accepted. That was my mistake number one. *********************** My Take: The poster is right, this was a huge mistake. 3 Clues to Heed When Using Bid-for-Pay Sites to Find Article Writing Jobs What should have clued him in: (i) the large order; (ii) the crazy turnaround time (2 days for 100 articles - come on!); and (iii) the buyers inability to escrow (ie, follow prescribed guidelines as outlined by the job posting sites). Scammers often use job sites for two reasons: (i) it’s the easiest way to target a lot of freelance writers quickly; and (ii) a lot of writers who use these sites are accustomed to working for pennies (no knock to the freelancer). Writers who charge more tend to stay away from sites like this (I know I do), or at least not waste their time responding to orders like this one. *********************** I put all my other work on the backburner and started his articles. It was unreal work, but I knew I would do it. He was bombarding me with emails. He wanted 10 articles every hour. I employed my wife and brother on the job too, and between us, we did the 10 articles in the first hour. I mailed him those. He accepted, said they were good, and said he wanted the next 10 within the next hour. I kept on sending, and with every mail he only said ‘Send me the next 10 asap’. There was no thanks, no decency in this person, he was only swallowing the articles without a burp. *********************** My Take: Second mistake. If you’re going to work on spec and for such low wages as this, at least make them pay up after a few have been sent. This would have showed good faith. In this instance, a good idea would have been to send say 5 at a time, receive payment, and then do another five. That way, if you don’t get payment, at least you’ve only spent time doing a few articles. And not for nothing, if this person seemed “indecent,” or unprofessional, that’s a big red flag. Most professionals don’t operate like this. There are so many thank yous flying back and forth between me and my clients that it’s a virtual lovefest. *********************** After 50 articles were done, I indicated about the payment. I asked him to pay at least $300, which was the amount for the work completed. He refused outright. He said he would pay as soon as the 100th article was submitted. I had no option but to plow on. *********************** My Take: Fifty articles in, I can understand the inclination to want to continue. But he should have stood his ground. Professionals understand upfront payments (heck, he’d completed half the job with no upfront payment). And honest client would have gladly paid something at this point. Reputable clients just don’t operate this way. Red flag! Red flag! Red flag! *********************** Anyways, I will get to the end now. I finished the 100 articles in the stipulated 2 days. This guy was awake day and night, and didn’t allow me to sleep either. He wanted articles every hour, and would allow only a few hours sleep. But, he refused to give me any chat ids. Email was our only conversation. So, 2 days, 40+ emails and 100 articles later, I asked him for the payment. His emails suddenly stopped. After about eight hours, he emailed me about a problem. He said that some other writer had fallen sick or something and could not complete her articles. He said her 29 articles were pending. And since those were completed, he could not send the articles to his client and his client would not pay. I told him this was unfair. He was almost like a dictator in his reply - do these 29 more, or there can be no payment. Really, he was so brutal. I had to do those 29 more articles. I took one more day to finish, not a whole day though. And I sent him those 29 also. The dues were now $780 and I was waiting for them. After a few repeated reminders from my side, I got an email from him. He said he has paid on PayPal. I got a confirmation email from “PayPal” too. But the money did not show on PayPal. I waited four hours, thinking it might take time or something. But the money never came. And then I minutely scrutinized the “confirmation email”. It was a carefully planned out hoax. The email was a spoof. I reported it to PayPal immediately. And then Elliott Leee stopped responding. No further communication occurred. In my last mail, I only told him how he was a criminal, and how I will expose him. He never replied to that. Three days later, I was checking my freelance account where I first found this fellow. I was shocked to see the site had deducted $30 from my account for this project with Elliott Leee. I opened a dispute ticket with them. Let me tell you also what PayPal and the freelance site did (or rather, did not do). PayPal never replied to my report on the spoof mail. How can they not even be concerned about someone spoofing their emails? What’s the security for us then, when the biggest online bank of the world is so laidback about such crime? A couple of days later, I only got an email from PayPal saying that there’s no transaction of $780 on the said date. And they gave me a litany of preaching on what I must do to avoid phishing. Fat help! The freelance site obviously did not help. There was no escrow, and that was their excuse to wash their hands of the whole affair. No escrow, no help - that’s the brutal dictum of these freelance sites. They replied about the deduction of $30 in 3 words - Project was canceled. Yes, you guessed it right - after making me slog like an aboriginal slave, after killing my sleep and appetite for two days running, this Elliott Leee took all the articles and canceled the project. I got no justice in all this, and the infrastructure of the Internet is such that I will never get any justice. People like Elliott Leee will rule. And we honest hard workers will always lose. *********************** My Take: Honest, hard workers will not lose, if we are smart. Don’t ever, ever, ever start work without some form of payment being made first. In my case, I break this rule, but let me explain. First, I don’t use bid-for-pay sites. The pay is too low and the time spent formulating queries is just too time consuming. By the time I do that, I could have sent out 50 email queries from contacts I’ve found on my own. When I query clients online, I’ve been to their site. While this doesn’t guarantee a thing, at least I know they’re less likely trying to scam me b/c I approach them first. Furthermore, I propose rates to my clients, not the other way around. With bid-for-pay sites, most of the clients post what they’re willing to pay for a project. Finally, it’s just a gut instinct I use. I’ve been doing this long enough (since 1993) to get a feel for clients. I’ve only been burned once - and that was by a lawyer (go figure!) and it wasn’t web writing. To avoid all of this, or at least until you develop that long-time freelancer “gut feeling,” just ask for 50 percent up front before you start on a project. It’s industry standard and if a potential client balks; then you walk. *********************** Long live the phishers and scammers! The world’s online banks and freelance sites are there to help you do your thing. PS: There is much, much more coming up on Elliott Leee as I am discovering more stuff from him. I have recently found out (without proof) that Elliott Leee is an alias - he has some other name. In fact, he has many other names. If anyone of you wants to discuss Elliott Leee with me, and even take a look at our email convos and things like that, get in touch with me. I won’t take you at your face value though. There are other instances of us getting cheated on my blog. *********************** My Take: While phishers and scammers do their part to stink up the internet with their schemes, this medium is full of opportunity. Don’t let a few rotten apples spoil the bunch. The key is to market smart, and trust ye ole gut! Visit Roy Daniel DSilva’s blog here: dupedinfreelance.blogspot.com. May be reprinted with the following, in full: Learn how I started making $250+/Day writing SEO articles — in less than three weeks! Read case studies of those who are doing it here. You can work from home as a freelance writer in your PJs, getting assignments via the internet. I do it every day. All you need is a computer and an internet connection to get started. Visit InkwellEditorial.blogspot.com for more advice on article writing, freelance writing, blog writing and more!

When you think of charities you probably don’t even think about tattoos in the same sentence. Well I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find out that this one tattoo parlor in Phoenix was holding a A 15-hour long fundraiser for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. A 30 minute session with one of the tattoo artists from Living Canvas Tattoos cost only $15! You honesty can not beat that price when an average 30 minute session would probably start at around $60 and up depending on the tattoo artist. This charity event was a birthday celebration for the tattoo studio. They were celebrating 15 years of services so they thought 15 years with $15 tattoos for 15 hours would be a great event. The owner of the tattoo studio said, “There are so many charities, how do you go wrong with kids?”. Which I think is fantastic. It just goes to show that even tough man covered in tattoos that probably lead not so normal life style still have a huge heart for children and charities. The Owner Mark Walters, knew this event would more than likely be a huge hit and expected the rough bikers dudes to show as well as the average soccer mom because the money was going to such a good cause. However, Mark did state that any tattoo design will be accepted as long as it fell into the 30 minute session if not the $15 would not apply. I truly think this whole concept is wonderful. I wish more tattoo studios would do things like this. It benefits not only tattoo enthusiasts but it also goes to a great cause! So listen up tattoo studio owners think real hard about following in Living Canvas Tattoos footsteps. The satisfaction of doing something great for someone else far out ways any dollar amount you could earn from given a tattoo. Your Tattoo Friend Ashley

Article writing requires a lot of skills as it displays a writer’s intelligence, knowledge and integrity. It is a medium of communication that is meant to convey a message to the readers. The impact of the message and its clarity depends on the writing styles of various writers. Some writers use their own thoughts and ideas and some take ideas from different resources and garner them together to make their articles perfect. Writing a good, informative and catchy article is very essential for a blog or a SEO technique. Here are some useful points which will help make the article interesting and helpful for the readers. Perfection is an important aspect of article writing. It, in itself, is a wider term as there is a great amount of effort required to write an article incisively. Perfection can be related to quality, in a sense that an article should be precise, thought provoking, specific, knowledgeable, and non-ambiguous. Some writers deviate from the topic and their thoughts, ideas, and opinions appear to be perplexed. The outcome is that the readers end up getting nothing out of it as the message conveyed is either redundant or illogical. Article writing consists of some must-follow rules and guidelines. They act as strong foundation in achieving what a writer wants and what he/she needs to convey to the receivers/readers. These rules and guidelines include: 1) Avoid too much detailing: 2) Support your statements/facts with examples. People love to relate the benefits of things with real-life examples. 3) Authenticate your information and avoid using wrong information as it can be a marketing strategy of some people. 4) Proofreading for spell checks and grammar to make it perfect and error free 5) Give direction to the reader and avoid using you “could”, “should”, “would” is sentences such as “you could start…” . Instead frame the sentence as: “start your own programme” 6) To the point opinion and facts; share your valuable insights by giving detailed information about the topic. Article writing is a very crucial SEO strategy. Through it, website owners can publicise their products and/or services. Through there is abundance of information available on net, not everyone can use it to produce a readable write-up. It is a creative process and ideas are required at every stage. The really good ideas, in order to work, have to be mastered upon like a really good cheese that needs to mature. Indigo UK is one such firm that believes in innovative ideas, creativity and thrives to go beyond the expectations of its clients.

“Write without pay until someone offers to pay”

Conqueror was lying motionless next to the black horse. I saw immediatelty that their injuries would eventually prove fatal, but only after many long days of agony . . . and I could never let that happen. I retrieved the fiance’s knife, as the black horse continued to struggle trying to get up on his broken legs, and cut an artery in the poor beast’s neck. Reluctantly, I then picked up the hunter’s longbow and quiver and walked over to my old companion. The big horse was paralyzed; only his eyes could move as he rolled them to see if I was coming to help him. When he noticed the bow, he looked away and stared straight ahead, not wanting to make what I inevitably had to do more difficult. Even in his last moments, his only concern was for his life-long friend. I emptied the quiver onto the grass, and then, as if in a dream state, chose the straightest and sharpest arrow for my loyal friend. I felt numb . . . I could not be doing this; something else had to be controlling me as I positioned the shaft onto the powerful bow and drew it to its limit. I closed my eyes and released the bowstring. The bow slipped from my hands as I fell to my knees, cradling Conqueror’s head in my arms while he struggled to breathe - the deadly arrow deep in his heart. My mind was racing. I looked down at the white; battle scarred flanks, recalling the countless times in combat that this valiant horse had taken the blows meant for me. I became overwhelmed, my tears flowed for my only friend in the world now, and soon the horse’s struggles subsided. Then it was over. I was a failure in every sense of the word. I failed myself, I failed the maiden, and I failed Conqueror. I could barely remember walking back for Maradin. The cottage and barn were now smoldering ruins as I sat next to her body until late afternoon with my head buried in my bloody hands. How could it have ever come to this? Ariya had warned me to listen to my heart, and if I had just listened to it when I first came upon this cottage, I would have walked by and this tragedy would never have happened. And Maradin would still have her life. Everything was now hopeless. I swore to Ariya that I would give up everything to find the key, and yet I became sidetracked so easily. There was nothing left for me now. Everything in my life was gone. Evening was approaching, and as I glanced toward the meadow, I thought that I saw something move. I couldn’t quite make it out, but it almost appeared to be a horse grazing near the wood line; a white horse. Suddenly, chills ran up my spine as I realized it was Conqueror! I quickly looked behind me, and not only had the ruins of the cottage and barn disappeared, but Maradin was gone as well! Even more incredibly, my gashed chest was miraculously healed, and I found myself in my old robes with my long hair and beard. And where the cottage and barn had been, there was only the tranquil, undisturbed forest. Completely disoriented, I continued to stare at my surroundings in disbelief when I noticed someone strolling out of the forest. I couldn’t quite make out who it was, but it was a man, and he was laughing! Then I recognized him. “I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!” I screamed. The old sorcerer carefully sat down on a rock and stroked his pointy chin with his skinny index finger for a long time. “How old are you now, king?” he finally bellowed across the meadow. “You know what you can do, Sorcerer!” “I said, HOW OLD ARE YOU, KING?” This time the entire forest shook with the force of his words. “Thirty-seven!” I yelled back, enraged. He calmly stroked his chin a few more times. “No you’re not, he shouted, “you’re not thirty-seven,’ you’re a hundred thousand years old considering the past lives you have squandered on the various spheres you have lived on by surrendering to these crude passions. You’re no different than an animal, living out these mindless scenarios lifetime after lifetime.” He seemed to be just warming up, as I continued to defiantly stare him down. Then he pointed at me and said, “You haven’t learned very much, have you? I created this fantasy in your mind to make you painfully aware of your weaknesses, and reveal to you what will prevent you from finding your key, and instead of being grateful, you want to kill me? When will you ever be finished with this insane killing? What is so special about killing people, and what has your killing ever solved? If killing were a solution, all of your many problems would have been solved thousands of years ago! Why must you continue to kill? You resolve nothing. How stupid can one man be?” I had to admit that the cottage was a little too perfect with its tailored gardens and its cute, white picket fence, and Maradin . . . she was too good to be true as well. “I thought that you had finally come to your senses, King; that you had at last accumulated some spiritual potential, but you are still no different than a brute, following your animal-like instincts and passions by crushing anything or anybody that stands in your way. Have you given up your quest for the key so soon? Do you wish to repeat this little episode a few hundred thousand times more before you finally get it through your thick head where your priorities lie? Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself?” I was about to say something sarcastic but he cut me off, “Don’t even say it! You have caused everybody, including me, enough misery for one day, wouldn’t you say? Who do you think you are; some great king that deserves more than the six feet of earth everybody else will inherit when they are dead? You constantly prop up this over-blown, enormous ego of yours and doggedly fight to stay in the center of your pathetic little circle, fending off everyone and never letting anything else come close. “In victory, there is always defeat. Can you fathom that, King? Of course you can’t, you are just an impetuous beginner. Can you understand that only in the jaws of final defeat will you be victorious? I don’t think so, not now at least . . . maybe someday. I must tell you; you are worst, most dimwitted student I have ever attempted to train, and I might just send you packing! If you ever do find the key, it will be a miracle.” Somewhere deep down in my silent heart, I felt terrible for my lack of wisdom, and for what a mess I made, but my logic and conceit would not relent, riding roughshod over any inkling of remorse that might be stirring. Logic whispered to me, “Never admit that you’re wrong,” and conceit said, “and never say that you are sorry.” The sorcerer’s eyes blazed, “Be gone, both of you,” he growled, and immediately something came over me . . . a surrender, a release? I don’t know, but I found myself apologizing for the first time in my life. I actually said that I was sorry. The sorcerer suddenly vanished from the meadow and reappeared sitting on a stump next to me. He softened his tone slightly, “There is a chance, he said, “a very slim one, that you still might find the key in this lifetime, but it will be complicated and take you much longer than other key seekers. “First, however, we must discuss Maradin. Lust grows as quickly and surely as a small child, no differently than any other addiction, and each subsequent stage, small and insignificant as it might appear, doubles the addictive power of lust until it is almost impossible to control. Didn’t you realize when you fell in love with her that it was a case of mistaken identity?” ( To be continued) ——————————————————————————– E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, .SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-nine years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit .AYearToEnlightenment.com

I will admit that I personally fall into this category. When someone finds out that I have tattoos they don’t believe it because I don’t seem like the type that would have them. I really don’t know why people don’t except it maybe its because I’m not a wild and crazy person, I don’t drink, smoke and have never done drugs. I guess you could say I’m pretty straight laced. So when someone that knows me finds out about my ink it surprises them. Of course I guess there really isn’t a certain type of person that has tattoos because so many different people on the earth have them and they come from different backgrounds, cultures and races. But when it comes to an individual bases I guess there are some people that don’t seem like the tattoo type. For instance, I just find out recently that my husband’s old boss has a tattoo. Now this guy is definitely a person you would never think to have a tattoo. He is very strict, by the book, orderly, do it right the first time kind of person. And it came as a surprise to us when we discovered he had a tattoo. And even more interesting is that he is not ashamed to show it off but more so scared of what people will think of him because he has a pretty high up corporate position. So I guess it just goes to show that any body could have some ink hidden on their body. Your Tattoo Friend Ashley

Writing an e-book is a popular means of expression these days. People do it for a number of reasons

Danielle Steel was born Danielle Fernandes Schuelein on August 14, 1947 in New York City, New York. Her parents, John Schlein, a descendant from the Lowenbrau Beer founders, and Norma da Camara Stone Reis, the daughter of a Portuguese diplomat. They divorced when Danielle was only seven years old and she was raised mostly by her German born father. Danielle loved to write stories and poetry even as a child. She graduated from Lycee Francais de New York in 1965 and studied literature and fashion design at Parson School of Design and New York University. Danielle started her business career in PR work before she settled down to writing manuscripts in the seventies. First published in 1973, she now has more than 350 million books in print. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, she has been on the New York Times Best seller List for 381 consecutive weeks. Danielle Steel has been married five times. She married Claude-Eric Lazard, a French banker, when she was eighteen. The marriage lasted nine years and produced a daughter. She had a son, Nick by her third husband. In 1981, her fourth husband, John Traina, brought two sons into their marriage and adopted Danielle’s son and Danielle adopted John’s two sons. They had five more children together. Danielle says the children are the most important thing in her life. John Traina and Danielle later divorced. Danielle married a financier, Tom Perkins, but divorced two years later. Her later wrote a novel and dedicated it to Danielle. Danielle started and runs the Nick Traina Foundation in memory of her son who committed suicide in 1997. Nick suffered from bipolar disorder and drug abuse. She is active in lobbying for children with mental health disorders. Her children’s book series, Martha and Max, and later the Freddie series are geared to help children deal with real life problems. Today Danielle Steel is a single woman and divides her time between her homes in San Francisco and in France.  And, yes, she is still writing novels. Books by Danielle Steel: Max and Martha Series: Martin’s Best Friend (1989) Martha’s New Daddy (1989) Martha’s New School (1989) Max and the Babysitter (1989) Max’s Daddy Goes to the Hospital (1989) Martha’s New Puppy (1990) Max Runs Away (1990) Max’s New Baby (1990) Martha and Hilary and the Stranger (1991) Ma and Granma and Grandpa Winky (1991) Freddie Series: Freddie and the Doctor (1992) Freddie’s Accident (1992) Freddie’s First Night Away (1992) Freddie’s Trip (1992) Stand Alone Novels: Going Home (1973) Passion’s Promise (1976) The Promise (1978) Now and Forever (1978) Season of Passion (1978) Golden Moments (1979) Summer’s End (1979) Loving (1980) The Ring (1980) To Love Again (1980) A Perfect Stranger (1981) Remembrance (1981) Palomino (1981) Once in a Lifetime (1982) Crossings (1982) Changes (1983) Thurston House (1983) Full Circle (1984) Family Album (1985) Secrets (1985) Wanderlust (1986) Kaleidoscope (1987) Fine Things (1987) Zoya (1988) Star (1989) Daddy (1989) Message From Nam (1990) Heartbeat (1991) No Greater Love (1991) Jewels (1992) Mixed Blessings (1992) Vanished (1993) Wings (1994) The Gift (1994) Accident (1994) Five Days in Paris (1995) Lightning (1995) Silent Honor (1996) Malice (1996) The Ghost (1997) Special Delivery (1997) The Ranch (1997) The Klone and I 998) The Long Road Home (1998) Mirror Image (1998) The Wedding (1998) Bittersweet (1999) Irresistible Forces (1999) Granny Dan (1999) Journey (2000) The House on Hope Street (2000) The Kiss (2001) Leap of Faith (2001) Lone Eagle (2001) Answered Prayers (2002) The Cottage (2002) Sunset in St Tropez (2002) Johnny Angel (2003) Safe Harbor (2003) Dating Game (2003) Miracle (2004) Ransom (2004) Second Chance (2004) Echoes (2004) Impossible (2005) Toxic Bachelors (2006) Coming Out (2006) H.R.H. (2006) Bungalow Two (2006) The House (2006) Sisters (2007) Amazing Grace (2007) Honor Thyself (2008) Rogue (2008) A Good Woman (2008) One Day at a Time (2009) Matters of the Heart (2009) Southern Lights (2009) Family Ties (2010) First Sight (2010) Big Girl (2010) Other Works: Love: Poems (1981) The Happiest Hippo in the World (2009) Nonfiction: His Bright Light (1998) To read more author biographies, please go to: More author biographies