Author: James Fishman

James Fishman has been involved in the world of online magazines for more than 15 years. He helped launch Sunstone Online and continues to improve the magazine as site editor and administrator. His writing focuses primarily business and technology. To be in touch with James, feel free to contact him at james[at]sunstoneonline.com.

How To Get that Novel Published..and Become a Famous Author

ebook

Here is an unusual idea to make your millions. Today with the advent of the e-book, you don’t need a publicist and a book deal in order to get your first great novel up and running. Fifty Shades of Grey actually started this way, snowballing into a multi-million dollar bestselling franchise.

The book is now about to be turned into a Hollywood film directed by English filmmaker Sam Tayor-Wood and the trilogy made the author £33million just last year.
And you don’t even have to be the biggest hit of the year to make some great money. Andy Leeks, 34, from Headcorn in Kent, has sold more than 40,000 of his ebooks and he is close to becoming an Amazon Top 100 bestseller. Last year he wrote the book called As They Slept: The Comical Tales Of A London Commuter. As he explains, “I was just sitting on the train going to work one day and I looked around – everyone else was fast asleep. It seemed an incredible waste of good time so there and then I decided to start writing about commuter experiences. It was easy to publish as an ebook and fortunately many readers seemed to like it and before long I was selling 500 copies a day with lots of people downloading it on to tablets and book reading devices such as the Kindle.”


At a store like Amazon, you can click on the “Independently Publish with Us” link and then sign up to Kindle Direct Publishing. There are other choices for self publishing as well, including Kobo.

Damien Fahy, who runs money saving website MoneytotheMasses and is author of ebook 30 Day Money Plan, offers some advice. He says that people should put aside money for a graphic designer who can create great cover, for an editor to edit the book and for other expenses. He also recommends setting up a Facebook page as a forum for sharing thoughts on the novel and having someone review it at Amazon.

A Tomato A Day Keeps the Doctor Away?

tomatoes

In the first study of its kind that’s been done, researchers from the University of Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford looked at the diets and lifestyles of close to 14,000 men aged 50 to 69. They concluded that men who ate at least portions of tomatoes a week were 18% less likely to develop prostate cancer than were those who had no tomatoes or very few.

They believe that the magical protection against illness comes from a key chemical in the tomato known as lycopene. Men should not panic – the tomatoes don’t have to be eaten raw. It counts if it’s tomato-based sauces that people use, tomato juice and even tomato puree on a pizza.

And being an overachiever is even a benefit here. Men who doubled their intake of fruit and vegetables to the five portions a day that is recommended reduced their risk by almost a quarter.


Now, one portion is equal to 150 grams of tomatoes, half a pint of baked beans or a portion of pizza with a tomato puree. It’s best to keep it as pure as possible, however, and not to overindulge in baked beans and pizza sauce as they have high levels of salt content.

Prostate cancer ranks as the most common form of illness for men. There are 41,700 new cases each year and 10,700 deaths in the UK alone. As research leader Vanessa Er, of the University of Bristol, said: “Our findings suggest that tomatoes may be important in prostate cancer prevention. We also found men who ate more fruits and vegetables had a reduced risk of prostate cancer. The risk reduction figure for men who ate five or more portions of fruit or vegetables, compared to those who ate less than two and a half portions, was 24 per cent.”

Some in the medical profession disagree with a stud of this sort. As Dr. Iain Frame of the Prostate Cancer UK said, “Studies like these are notoriously difficult to interpret and should be done so with extreme caution. It is difficult to separate the effects of one type of food from another, and we still don’t have nearly enough evidence to make concrete recommendations on which specific foods men should eat to reduce their risk of prostate cancer. What we do know is that men shouldn’t rely too heavily on one type of food, such as tomatoes. A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables together with regular exercise is by far the best option.”

Sleepy Teenagers May Be Fatter Adults

teenager sleep

Your teenager’s lack of sleep just might be making him fat. That’s the result of a new study published in the Journal of Pediatrics and conducted by Columbia University and the University of North Carolina.

The study found that teenagers who get less than six hours of sleep a nigh are 20% more likely to be obese later in life. The researchers found that, by age 21, those who had 8 hours of sleep during their teen years were significantly less likely to be overweight.

Researchers looked at information for more than 10,000 American kids aged 16. They revisited the information on the same kids when they were 21. 20% of the 16 year olds reported to getting less than six hours of sleep. This group was 20% more likely to be obese at 21 than were their peers who slept for 8 hours a night.

As Shakira Suglia, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, said, “Lack of sleep in your teenage years can stack the deck against you for obesity later in life.”

“Once you’re an obese adult, it is much harder to lose weight and keep it off. And the longer you are obese, the greater your risk for health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The message for parents is to make sure their teenagers get more than eight hours a night.”

Loving Until the End

This is an incredible story of love and dedication. Watch and admire.

 


4 Unusual Hotel Perks Coming Your Way

goldfishIf you’re interested in a rather unique hotel stay, here are a few choices for your pleasure:

  1. Kimpton Hotels: Are you missing your pet? Wish you had brought your fish along for the ride? No problem. With this US chain’s “Guppy Love” program you can have a goldfish put in your room during your stay. Hotel staff are responsible for the care of the fish and you can relax next to your aquarium and lower your stress levels.
  1. The Benjamin in New York has a sleep specialist on staff who offers guidance through the “Rest & Renew” program. Part of this program includes special pillows that guests can order off of the “pillow menu” and includes a power nap kit.

  1. At Provence Hotels your pet will be taken care of. This hotel has an in-room massage package that includes Reiki treatments and more. They have an in-house pet psychologist, pet grooming, dog walking and more.
  1. Finally, for guests who need a fragrance pick-me-up, the Vancouver Hotel Georgia offers a fragrance butler. Yes, this is true. He will come to your room with ten fragrances on a silver platter and you can select from the high-end brands to smell your best.

Bucklist for Retirees Shows They are Ready to Roll

A recent survey asked 1000 retirees to discuss their ultimate bucket list of locations that they hope to hit before they die. Fidelity Worldwide Investment conducted the survey, finding the retirees are really ready for some adventure.

25% want to take a cruise in the Caribbean while 23% are interested in a scenic train trip across Europe. 20% want to go to the Grand Canyon – but they want to do so from a helicopter.

While everyone dreams, only 20% believe that they will be able to get everything done from their to-do list.

As Maike Currie, associate investment director at Fidelity Worldwide Investment said, “People no longer see hitting age 65, traditionally the so-called “retirement age”, in the same light as they did in the past. Many people over 65 are healthy, active and independent. As the survey’s findings show, rather than slowing down and taking it easy, today’s retirees plan to live life to the full. They are keen to travel the world and make the most of their golden years. In many ways 65 is the new 50.”

Here is the list that the survey found for retirees:

TOP BUCKET LIST DESTINATIONS
1. View Aurora Borealis, Norway (29%)

2. Go on a cruise in the Caribbean (25%)
3. Inter rail across Europe (23%)
4. Take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon and the Las Vegas strip (20%)
5. Ride a gondola in Venice (18%)
6. Walk the Great Wall of China (18%)
7. Go on Route 66 road trip in US (18%)
8. See the Taj Mahal in India (17%)
9. Go on an African safari (17%)
10. Visit the pyramids in Egypt (15%)