amaliehoward.com

What’s that about a back door? Someone infiltrating and infecting my bits and bytes? Sounds ugly, doesn’t it? Don’t panic. It’s all sorted now, site is clean and healthy.

But honestly, it’s like a personal slight, the horridly public announcement that you have a contagious infection, and everyone should stay away or they could catch it. Is that a scarlet letter, or what? Anyway, initial shock and shame aside, I guess it was inevitable at some point according to all the posts and information out there about malware, spyware, crapware, etc. It happens, and if you don’t protect your site effectively, you could be vulnerable to attack.

So the short story is that my site got hacked with additional unauthorized users added and malicious software embedded into the code, which of course got tagged by Google and was eventually marked as a “site that may harm your computer.” Super. Enter immediate panic on my part. What to do? What to do? WHAT TO DO?

Thankfully, Media Temple, my hosting provider, along with my wonderful webmaster/husband got right on it and cleaned out all the malware (while of course I’m still running around like a chicken with its head cut off). We then requested a review from Google (via their webmaster tools – request a review) to confirm that the site was clean, which they did very quickly (thank you Google!), and now we are back to normal. Phew.

As Google puts it, “the price of freedom from malware is eternal vigilance.” Here are some general tips to protect yourself if you have a WordPress (or any other) website.

1) Use strong passwords

2) Keep WordPress updated (older versions can have known security issues) or harden WordPress

3) Backup your files (database, theme files, plugins, media uploads)

4) Monitor your site regularly including new or abnormal database user accounts and changes to source files

5) Keep local computers safe with up-to-date anti-virus software

6) Stay current with the latest security news – Google Online Security Blog or US-Cert (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team)

If your site has been compromised, don’t panic (easier said than done, I know). Contact your hosting provider for help, and follow Google’s step-by-step information on Cleaning Your Site. You can also refer to the WordPress FAQ My Site Was Hacked for additional information specific to WordPress. StopBadware.org also offers good information, tips to protect yourself, and forum advice from people who can help you.

Remember, use protection! That’s good life advice too.

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes! ~Maya Angelou

Formerly known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday celebrated on the last Monday in May. Memorial Day commemorates U.S. soldiers who died while in military service. It was first implemented to honor soldiers who died in the American Civil War, but was expanded after World War I to include American soldiers who lost their lives in any war. It is a day to honor heroic Americans of past generations.

Remember those heroes who died for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Let me start by saying – I do not believe in actual vampires, as in ‘your-neighbor-is-a-vampire’ or ‘go-out-and-date’ a vampire. I love to read about them and write about them because they are interesting, and as Ms. Laurence agrees, mysterious, talented and sexy. But to me, they are fictional and only become real in my head/imagination/dreams. So this book wouldn’t necessarily be something I would run out and purchase. I reviewed it because I reviewed a similar book written from a male perspective, and I thought it’d be an interesting comparison (the other book was a gift).

You may recall my review of The Vampire Seduction Handbook (if not, click on the link). Well this book, How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: a Step by Step Guide to Loving the Bad and the Beautiful, may very well be the yin to that book’s yang.

A couple things to note: 1) It is written by a female unlike the very male perspective in The Vampire Seduction Handbook. 2) It covers a lot of the same stuff – dating, biting, blood-drinking, romance, sex, conversion, etc. 3) It covers new stuff like good versus bad versus evil vampires. 4) The format is similar – a how-to guide with little stories and anecdotes dispersed throughout. 5) How to Catch and Keep a Vampire definitely takes itself more seriously than The Vampire Seduction Handbook.

So on to my review. I read this book in about an hour and a half, and as always, first the good things. I really enjoyed the “Case Study” stories. I did get quite engrossed in them and wanted more. But I expect that this has to do with me personally, as I indicated above, I’m more of a fictional believer in vampires. Like the VSH, I did find myself skipping over the parts that weren’t as interesting to get to the parts that were. The book was easy to read and the pace flowed fairly well. There were many areas that were clever and witty, where I had an internal laugh at certain similarities with things I’ve thought myself. I liked the fact that the author kept me hooked with the story of the evil vampire, Dr. Steven Grey at key points throughout the book – I wanted to find out what happened (which you do, on the next to the last page).

Now for the not-so-good things. I didn’t get the feeling that this book was written from a tongue-in-cheek perspective. So my brain couldn’t really enjoy it very much because I was unable to connect with the apparent “seriousness” of its how-to information. I have to say, I almost stopped reading at the “Top Ten Vampire Pick-up Lines” page. It almost killed me, and not in a good way. While the VSH was funny – excerpt from my review:  “The Vampire Seduction Handbook is a fun, interesting read that doesn’t take itself too seriously (and neither should any readers looking for non-fiction – it clearly says “humor” on the back jacket, so step back, breathe, and run a sanity check before you run out and do something clearly irrational like trying to entrap a vampire lover),” How to Catch and Keep a Vampire felt more like an actual guide which unfortunately made it seem too implausible to be enjoyable for me.

Ok, so now I feel like I need to explain myself – I love the idea of vampires, their sexy mystery, the danger, etc., etc. If I had to explain it more succinctly, it would be like vampire “beer-goggles” – you know where it’s all in the moment and you’re lost and it’s hot, terrifying, amazing? Well, when I read a how-to guide that tricks my brain into thinking “practical application” of something that clearly isn’t real, well then the beer goggles come off, and it’s become a “coyote-ugly” morning. Ok, maybe not too succinct, but suffice it to say that it’s likely I just want to stay in my fantasy-world – the fictional and glorious world of books and movies where anything is possible – for the very reason that it’s called Urban Fantasy, because it’s not real. Strip something of its mystery and it tends to lose its magnetism. In my world, not everything has to be real, to be real, if that makes any sense.

So overall, it was an interesting read, more so if you’re actually after a practical “how-to” guide. If you want to fish, you buy a fishing guide. If you want to catch a vampire, you get this one. Like I said, I quite liked the little stories of the author’s “interaction” with vampires and would probably enjoy reading more on those subjects, if not to satisfy my very real desire for escapism as opposed to the realist, non-believer in me that says – if vampires were real, I’d probably be one. Then again, people haven’t seen God and they believe in him, so who am I to say that other things don’t exist. But that my friends, is a discussion for another time (not to mention for someone far more theologically qualified than I am).  I would rate How to Catch and Keep a Vampire 3 out of 5 stars.

In the rush of all the new modern fantasy novels, television shows, and movies, I wanted to write about a true fantasy classic, The Neverending Story. I’ve seen this movie about twenty times, and each time it just doesn’t get old. It doesn’t have to have the most advanced CGI or special screen effects, it’s all about the story: a boy, a book, a quest to save an empress, and a fantasy world called Fantasia.

When Bastian, a sensitive boy who gets bullied at school, finds a book called The Neverending Story, he starts reading and gets drawn into a fantasy adventure of a boy’s quest to save Fantasia from a terrible thing called the Nothing. Bastian follows Atreyu, the hero in the story, through his quest to find a human child to save Fantasia, fighting his fears and finding courage along the way, until the fantasy world and the book merge into one. Bastian realizes he is the human child Atreyu has been seeking, and is the only one who can save Fantasia from total obliteration.

I still cry when Atreyu’s horse sinks to his death in quicksand. My heart races when Atreyu runs between the statues with the lasers. And that black wolf still scares the pants off me even though it looks little more than a stuffed muppet wolf. And who doesn’t love the coolness of Falcor, the luck dragon?!

The Neverending Story is a rich, fantastic, imaginative adventure that everyone, old and young, will love. If you haven’t seen it, get it. You won’t be disappointed. I give The Neverending Story 5 stars.

In this post, I’d like to offer a moment of silence for New York, and those lost but not forgotten.We will never forget.

A couple notes before you submit:-

1) Submit to one literary agent at a time in a given agency (no matter how big, I learned this the hard way). If they pass on the query letter, then you can usually submit to another unless they specifically state that a “no” from one agent is a “no” from all agents at that agency. Some say that literary agents pass queries on to internally other agents – in my experience, I have not seen this at all.

2) Choose your agents carefully. Someone who has published say Stephenie Meyer is not really going to take on your vampire romance novel if she’s already got a successful author running with that.

3) Make sure they represent your genre whether it’s fantasy, romance, young adult, etc. You don’t want to waste someone’s time with your novel if they only represent non-fiction.

4) Track your submissions in your excel spreadsheet to stay on top of timing, agents, agencies, responses, follow-ups, etc. It’s good to keep track of agents requesting partials (3 chapters, 50 pages, etc.) and/or full manuscripts.

5) Make sure your prospective agent accepts email queries. Stick to their specific submission guidelines – some prefer email, some prefer snail mail, and some use forms on their websites.

Check out Agent Query’s page on Submitting to Literary Agents for additional tips and guidelines.

Blogbie = Blogger + Newbie

I’m not sure that I’m really a niche blogger. But I think that this particular blog will center around most things Fantasy, as in books, movies, TV shows, discussions, etc. And of course, my own journey as an Urban Fantasy writer. Enjoy.

Click on About Amalie if you want to learn more about me.