Meet Brenda Kay Winters, Author

Brenda Kay Winters is an author who was born in Vernon, Texas. She has published her books on Nook, Kobo, and Amazon. So far, she has written over 175 books. Brenda currently lives in Austin, Texas and has one daughter, Emilie Mignon, who is also a author; Emilie wrote Just Another Red Riding Hood Story.

Check out Brenda's recent book on Springtime Landscaping and Gardening, and learn more about her and her work by visiting her Amazon author page.

1. Have you always been interested in writing?

I had exceptional teachers in my English and language arts classes all of my life. They made learning and writing fun. My first experience with writing was in an English class in junior high school and my teacher was helpful. He had us look up many words and write out the whole definitions, and I wrote a paper on the Lindbergh kidnapping case. I have not always been interested in writing, and I became a nurse at age 19, married, and had one daughter. I did not have the time to write.

2. When did you start publishing your books through online venues like Amazon, Kobo, and Nook?

The first books I published were with Blurb in 2012 just after my parents died to ease the pain. Then my brother, William Winters, died in 2014 of colon cancer, and I started writing books almost daily in 2015. It keeps me busy.

3. What will readers learn in your latest book, Springtime Landscaping and Gardening?

In my latest book, Springtime Landscaping and Gardening, my readers will learn how to improve their homes and enjoy flowers, and maybe even start a business.

I just finished a Romance Erotica novel that is over 700 pages long called Lust and Seduction in Texas; it is available on Nook and another one like it on Create Space will be out in a few days.

4. What is your process like when it comes to researching, writing, and finally publishing your books?

My process is to ask friends and family what they would like to read, and I go from there. I write on my computer and take notes. I keep a pad and pen next to my laptop and try to write about subjects I know about.

5. Were you surprised when your daughter started publishing as well? What advice have you given her--and what advice might you give other authors who want to follow your example of writing and publishing?

I was happy and surprised that my daughter Emiele Mignon (her pen name) has starting writing and publishing books on Amazon, too. She is a naturally gifted writer and author.

My advice to anyone about writing is to do it every day and write about things you know about, and take classes if you are able to in order to improve your writings.

Thanks, Brenda!

Introducing Austin Texas Locksmith

A locksmith is one of those professional service providers whom you just might find yourself calling at all hours of the day or night. So you'll want someone in your phone that you can rely on for 24/7 service. Austin Premier Locksmith provides round-the-clock service for anyone who needs a locksmith near Austin.

Within the greater Austin, Texas metropolitan area, Austin Premier Locksmith provides the whole range unlocking services, from cars and motorcycles to houses and businesses. They can install new locks, re-key your locks, install deadbolts, add locks to your windows, and much more. Maybe you have an older lock that you hope to repair? They can do repairs, too.

They promise that their services will be provided in a professional and punctual manner, and they offer a free security check with every service call. They also have special discounts for seniors, students, and teachers. Because they work with a lot of people who have experienced break-ins and similar crimes, they offer specials for crime victims as well.

Their website has a lot more information about the specific emergency, automotive, residential, and commercial services they provide. And the best news is that no matter what time you need help, they charge you the same rate, day or night.

Introducing Texas Garage Door Repair

If you need service for your garage door in Austin, check out Texas Garage Door Repair. They offer a range of service options, whether you need repair or complete replacement of your garage door.

Garage doors are one of those aspects of your home that simply can get worn out over time. An old garage door not only lowers the perceived value of your property, but it can also be a safety risk for your home. I'm sure most of us have plenty of belongings in our garages that we wouldn't like to lose to burglary--plus, many garages provide access to the rest of the home as well.

Many garage door repairs are simple, just requiring the replacement of springs or other relatively small parts. Or maybe your garage door opener is lost or broken, and you need it to be fixed or replaced. Why spend the time and money on a DIY job with your garage door when you could hire an expert who specializes in this aspect of home maintenance?

You can also work with Texas Garage Door Repair for regular maintenance of your garage door, extending the life of your door and protecting your investment. For more info, visit the company online.

Temp Agencies In San Antonio: Get The Job You Want Now

The information that follows is a guest post provided by LeadingEdge Personnel, a temporary staffing agency with offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. This video gives an overview of their services for job seekers.

Temp Agencies In San Antonio: Get The Job You Want Now

Finding a job in San Antonio is tougher than ever. Thousands spend days on end searching job boards and writing countless cover letters, never to hear a response. It's enough to leave any job-seeker hopeless and despaired.

What do you do? You've already groomed your resume to perfection and customized every cover letter to a tee.

The answer is simple. Try the job placement agency, LeadingEdge Personnel.

LeadingEdge Personnel is hired by all sorts of top companies to help with staffing needs. Their main purpose is to find qualified candidates to fill positions. Why not take advantage and work with them? With both efforts, you'll be sure to land the perfect job in no time.

How a Temp Agency Works

When a company posts an open position on a job board, they receive an outrageous number of responses, some serious, some not. Imagine having to go through all of them, read resumes, and then narrow down who is worthy of an interview. Seems pretty difficult, huh?

Exactly. This is why companies outsource to a temp agency. They can find relief from the work it takes to find candidates and skip to the interview part.

You can do the same. LeadingEdge Personnel is already looking for candidates with your skills and experience. All you have to do is put yourself in their sights. By setting up a meeting with LeadingEdge Personnel and signing up for their FREE service, you'll instantly set yourself apart from the crowd and finally be placed in the job of your dreams.

Employment Agencies Go the Extra Mile

During your initial consultation, a LeadingEdge representative will assess your skills and experience. This helps in the matching process and provides the representative with vital information about you. You can tell them which industry you're looking to go into, what type of benefits you're looking for, if you're only looking for temporary employment, etc.

This information will also help the representative advise you on how to make yourself as competitive as possible.

For example, LeadingEdge Personnel offers skills training courses, improvement workshops, and other beneficial tools that help job-seekers gain the advantages they need. Not many other San Antonio job placement services can say that.

The Employment Agency Difference

How many times have you sent a resume out and never heard a response back? Dozens of times? A couple of dozen times?

This is an unfortunate fate many job-seekers face. Why? Because all job-seekers have access to exactly the same resources. You search the same job boards, email the same companies, and call in the same favors.

This is why using a temp agency like LeadingEdge Personnel can give you the ultimate advantage. Not only do they have access to hundreds of quality jobs, but they also have personal relationships with hiring managers. These are the kinds of resources that get people off of the job boards and into the workplace.

In fact, according to the American Staffing Association, over 2 million people are employed by staffing companies every business day, and staffing companies hire 8.6 million temporary and contract employees every year!

The odds are in your favor. Contact job placement service, LeadingEdge Personnel, in San Antonio today and get the job you've always wanted.

Meet Melody Beals, Musician, Songwriter, and Host of FlipCamWebisodes

She is a musician and a songwriter. She is an interviewer gone web designer. She is a mother. She is Melody Beals. Singing always came easy to her because she loved it more than most teens her age loved sports, or dating, or friends. Melody's mom would scream across the house as Melody was proudly singing whatever choir medley that was stuck in her head, "Life is not a musical, Melody!” And Melody would retaliate with, "Then why did you name me 'Melody,' Mom??!!!" It was an on-going battle.

Melody was born and bred in Austin, Texas, home of South by Southwest, the world's largest music festival. Her real dream was always to be a backup singer for a major act, but a lot of that is meeting the right people, which never happened. Her love for music never died, but she decided to take things in a different direction rather than performing. Her new website, flipcamwebisodes.com, launched March of 2013.

She interviews solo artists, instrumentalists, bands of all genres, people who have had YouTube Videos go viral, etc. As long as these artists are not on any major labels at the time of interview, she is taking them on! Her idea is really to give indie musicians the chance to shine because if this kind of thing were around 10 years ago, she would have wanted somebody to help her! Melody wants to give people a voice, a platform, bragging rights, or whatever the musicians want to do with it to help them along the way.

If there is anything that she wishes to create other than a place to promote other than their music, she has creatively designed her website to let each artist shine as an individual and as the person that they are. She wants to catch the artists before they make it big, so they can all look back someday to see where they started.

Keep up with Melody and her flipcam on Twitter and Facebook.

Note: The photo of Melody was taken by Stephanie Featheringill.

1. How did you get the idea to focus your website (mostly!) on flipcam interviews with bands/musicians?

It was kind of an accident really. I wanted to create a blog originally. I just wanted to write about the things that really interested me, such as indie music. But after thinking about it for a day or two, I knew that I would have to bring a LOT more to the table if I were going to actually get people to come to the blog. So I decided that I still wanted to be immersed into the music scene and I knew it would help the musicians out if I interviewed them, as well as it would help my site gain traffic. I chose to do the Flipcam interviews, well... because I already had a flip cam, haha!

I just hadn't seen anything like it. I wanted to create a place where anybody and everybody could be themselves without judgment and have it be a relaxed environment. I liked the idea of kind of having an amateur feeling so everybody could be at ease, and I would be able to travel to them to get the interview.

2. What are some key elements to a good interview, in your opinion?

I really like to try to ask musicians about their learning experiences. I think that it creates a place where they can talk about their trials, and it could really help other hopefuls out there who are trying to do the same things. For me a good interview is one where people who watch can walk away like they have either gotten a chuckle out of it, or REALLY learned from it. The Aly Tadros and Tom Meny interviews are great examples of that.

3. With such a busy music scene in Austin (and so many great artists accessible online, too), how do you choose the musicians to feature on your site?

I am in the most wonderful position ever with this! When I go to do an interview, I ask them who they would recommend for me to look into next. Then I go home and look them up. I only literally interview the people whose music I actually love. So when they get interviewed by me, it's like they already know I'm a huge fan. And not mentioning any names, but this has made things a little awkward at times, haha! I try not to geek out, but I'm human. I pick the people I want to know the most about first because that makes it so easy to strike up the conversation.

4. What's your own background in music, and what motivated you to start your site?

My background is singing and playing ukulele, guitar, and some piano. Most of it has been unprofessionally, as I never really kicked my ass into gear hard enough to get out there like I had always dreamed. I'm not good enough at the instruments to even call myself a beginner, but it gets me through when I write a flippin' sweet lyric. I really got into music about 15 years ago.

Having a daughter who is 4 years old really has made me stop and think about whether I want to go on tour with her at home with her daddy. I know that's crazy to think about... but it could happen. The site came to mind because I'd be working from home with my daughter, Harmony. It just seemed more feasible to create a website instead of running out the door four nights a week to band practice or performances. With this, I choose my schedule. I also don't take too kindly to the band life anymore, because if I'm spending time away from my daughter, then it better be worth it. Most of the bands I was involved in never really made it out of the garage anyway, so I am really paying attention to where I am spending my time.

5. What projects do you see yourself taking on in the next couple of years?

I see this growing and more people getting involved with wanting to be a part of it. I do not see any limits to it. I will not stop. New ideas come to me every single day about things I want to do and things I want to add. I think about the people I want to talk to and how I can help them out. I take time to listen to opinions and ideas, and will also take help (in return for mine) from anybody interested in what I have going on. Oddly, I have been getting into acting more which is crazy because I never really saw myself doing that! Opportunities keep knocking and it's a shit ton of fun! I have no idea what my next step will actually be, but I do know that ANYTHING is possible and I am open to ALL opportunities (within reason, lol).

Thank you so much for being the very first person to interview me!

Thanks, Melody!

Meet Hank Brooks, Painter

Artist Hank Books sent this autobiographical note... My name is Hank Brooks, and I'm originally from Wilmington, NC. Since graduating college I've bounced around a bit, from Portland, Oregon to Boston and just recently settled in Austin, TX where I live with my fiance, Cristina, and our dog, Django. The idea for my Etsy shop "we call ourselves an Institute..." originated with idea of trying to create original art for art print prices: original works that wouldn't break the bank. The individuals displayed in my work are an array of pop culture icons from authors, musicians, artists and more. The hope is to create images of subjects that aren't typically covered in the pop art world or unique takes on some of the ones who have been covered at length.

1. How many paintings have you done in your series of pop art portraits?

So far, there have been about 30 different images. All images are part of a 10 painting series, and I never duplicate the background color block for a single image. I don't just want to provide affordable art; I want each to be an original. Covered subjects include authors such as John Steinbeck and Kurt Vonnegut, musicians ranging from Nina Simone to Nick Drake and Elliot Smith, and creative pioneers like Jim Henson and Salvador Dali.

2. How do you choose the subjects for your portraits?

Originally, I chose all of the subjects. I wanted to feature people who haven't typically been covered through similar means: pop icons that I personally found it difficult to find other artistic works of. They also needed to be personal heroes of mine. My first in the series was the Ernest Hemingway (which is still my favorite--see image below), and I went from there. I have since taken requests, ranging from Johnny Cash to Sly Stone. But the basic idea remains, in that I hope to provide a unique perspective on the individual.

3. What made you decide on acrylic/pen/canvas as the media for this series?

Trial and error mostly. I've worked with spray paint in the past, but could never get the sharp lines I wanted or the small details. By working with the pen, I can start with a fairly basic stencil image and embellish the details that I want. I've also worked with different mediums like wood or skateboard decks, but I didn't like the final product. With the acrylic/pen/canvas, I feel like I can create a unique black and white image that really pops with the given background color. The materials also help to keep the overall cost of the final product down, so I can keep the prices low for customers.

4. What are some other projects you've been working on as an artist over the last several years?

My previous works haven't been quite as uniform or thought out. In college I kept a sketch book of the same sort of cartoonish character in various social situations. Looking back on it now, it was very sophomoric and half baked. I've done some pieces for family, including a couple interpretations of the cover for Shel Silverstein's book The Giving Tree, which has a lot of significance to my sister and me. There are paintings here and there, but the recent works have really been a new kind of approach to my art.

5. What's your experience been on Etsy and other online venues for artists?

Etsy has been really great for me, especially as someone who is new to selling their art. The internet opens your work up to so many more people than you could ever get in a coffee house or gallery. Sales aside, just having that much exposure is really exciting. One of the great things about Etsy is that it's a social networking site as much as it is a online market, so you can connect with other artists who offer praise, advice and even constructive criticism. It lends itself to a bit of a communal feel, where everyone shares and helps one another.

Thanks, Hank!