Lusting For Money: A review of The Testament a novel written by John Grisham

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Eighty-year-old Troy Phelan jumps out of his wheelchair, practically runs across the room out onto the terrace and dives from the top floor of his 14 story building to his death. The sick, sad, lonely self made multi billionaire knew that he wanted to die, knew that his family wouldn’t mourn him much and wanted to cause them as much grief as he could by setting the scene for the last act of his life.

A short time before his death Troy who was one of the richest men in the USA was examined by 3 notable psychiatrists and pronounced sound in mind. Then he signed a 90 page professionally prepared will sharing his billions out equally amongst his 6 children from 3 broken marriages. All of who were in the room with their individual lawyers at the time of the examination and signing. His families, their lawyers and the psychiatrists then left the room totally satisfied with the filmed proceedings.

Camera still running, and with just 3 others remaining (Josh Stafford, a partner in the law firm and Troy’s gofer Snead) Troy shredded that will and produced and signed an handwritten 1 page will revoking all others and leaving his billions to illegitimate daughter Rachael Lane. Only Troy knew of her existence and nobody including him had more than a vague idea where she was.

In a letter to Josh he ordered the contents of the will not to be disclosed until January 9th, one month after his death. In that final testament all he left his 6 legitimate heirs was payment of any debts incurred before the reading and that would be only on condition that none of them contested the will. Immediately after signing the will he jumped to his death leaving behind a great deal of controversy and uncertainty.

His slick lawyer Josh Stafford was faced with the problem of finding Rachel Lane. All he had to go on was that she was a trained doctor and a World Tribes missionary in Brazil working for a religious outfit who had been sworn to secrecy about her. As far as his 6 children were concerned they were his heirs and had no idea that the final will had cut them out. Their problem was in getting enough credit to buy the expensive things that they desired and would be able to afford once they inherited the money.

At this stage I pondered on the fairness of a man that can play games with his children and detest them so much that he can disregard the security of their futures yet leave a massive fortune to a daughter that he had only met once and 20 years earlier. We learn that he had little interest in them as children and that each had received a trust fund of $5,000,000 on reaching 21, excepting for his weird 14 year old son Ramble whose money was waiting in trust for him. The 5 who had received their trust funds had gone through most or all of the money and some were in debt. Troy had worked hard for his money and was certain that his incompetent children and their partners would fritter the fortune away. I can understand that point of view but heck what’s the point of having money if you live austerely as Troy did and don’t enjoy it.

Josh decides rather strangely to send 48 year old food litigation lawyer Nate O’Riley to Brazil to look for Rachael. At the time of Troy’s death alcoholic Nate is drying out in a rehab centre for the umpteenth time and hardly the most suitable choice for the task and the temptations on the way. With 2 failed marriages and children that don’t like him, Nate’s excess baggage includes self-pity and to a certain extent the self-delusion of an alcoholic who has often stumbled at the hurdles of reform.

Nate travels to the Brazilian jungle while the Phelan heirs and their many legal advisers wrangle greedily over the inheritance. The book swings back and forth between both aspects of the story but my favourite parts were the descriptions of Nate sailing down an alligator infested river in a storm and the settlement of hostile semi-naked Ipica Indians and their surroundings.

I won’t say any more about the plot except that the will was read 2 weeks instead of a month after Troy’s death as he specified. I found that rather odd and there was no real reason given for not carrying out Troy’s last wishes, certainly not enough to affect the plot.

I haven’t read anything by John Grisham before and only picked this book in the library because of reading enthusiastic opinions about some of his other books. I wasn’t disappointed in my choice and found the storyline interesting enough to want to read to the end and find out what happens although it didn’t totally absorb me to a point where I couldn’t put the book down. I found some of the plot implausible but it seemed to strengthen rather than weaken this piece of fiction.

The main character Nate was well described and it was quite easy to build up empathy with him, but in parts I wanted to give him a big nudge with an extreme part of my anatomy. Part of the implausibility of the book was the speed in which Nate managed to travel to a remote part of Brazil called the Panatel, have some adventures and find Rachel with little information to go on.

When Rachel finally comes into the story I found it hard to find any empathy with her. She’s a good woman, dedicates her life to her religion and caring for natives in a remote part of the world with little access to what we call civilisation. Suffers unimaginable hardships every day stoically. A tough lady yet disappointingly little of her personality is exposed.

My favourite character was Jevy, Nate’s guide and translator in Brazil. Jevy had lived in the USA for a while and one day wanted to go back there. He came across as a caring, loyal, humorous and intuitive young man and was used in the story to keep Nate’s feet on the ground. I would liked to have seen the character expanded upon and explored more.

The Testament drew to a satisfying conclusion, leaving me with lots of things to think about. We all have to die sometime but wouldn’t it be awful dying knowing that the uncaring vultures waiting to pounce on what we leave behind are our children and the ones that we would most want to mourn us. It made me think about the lives of children with rich parents who spend time making more money instead of loving, raising, guiding and enjoying their children.

I learned something about the perils of the jungle and the way primitive tribes still live even now. I thought about the value of missionaries who apart from bible bashing offer invaluable medical care and knowledge making a not always welcome good and real difference to the existence of people from remote areas.

Greed was the motivation of many of the characters in the book, including some of the lawyers. You learn that those who uphold the law are not always honest when millions are at stake and hope that the storyline isn’t too true to life. Once the scenes with the lawyers came in I expected to find the book boring. I didn’t, I found myself curious to know how the Phelan heirs would react and just how low they and their lawyers would stoop. The switches to the jungle adventure were perfectly timed to stop me from ever feeling bored.

Although classed as a thriller it wasn’t thrilling, just a well told story with adventure, a hint of romance, a delve into the lives of spoilt filthy rich, an insight into the mind of a reforming alcoholic and the amount of money that lawyers can make out of other peoples deaths. Not the best book that I’ve ever read but still eminently readable and recommended for long winter evenings curled up in front of the fire. I shall certainly read more of John Grishams work in the future.

The author Patricia Jones loves writing and building websites.
You can see more of her articles and reviews at The Creative Writer - Make Money From Writing and the UK Travel Guide

Start Scotland Tours With ‘Glasge’ Attractions

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800px-Glasgow_westend_(31)Luckily for Glasgow most of the main attractions are located around the subway circuit. There is always something to see within easy reach of the city centre. Because the city has many hidden secrets around every corner, not all of them are as obvious on the top of a tour bus and are best seen on foot.

The best place to start is in the heart of the city, Georges Square. This place is always a hive of activity and has different event going on through the year. During the summer it is a great place to lounge around and admire the architecture of city chambers. At Christmas time the square is completely lit up with Christmas lights and is home to it’s own miniature fairground with a small Ferris wheel and merry go round.

Throughout the year Glasgow hosts many festivals that celebrate all things arty after it was titled city of culture in the 1990’s. Every month there is something going on and is best know for it’s Glasgow comedy festival, Celtic Connections, the Merchant City festival and of course, Hogmanay. There are many other smaller festivals going on, such as an event celebrating Glasgow Subway. The city never stops!

All around the subway circuit there is something to see at almost every stop. Some of my favourites are Glasgow Cathedral and Necropolis, Tenement house at Cowcaddens station, Scotland Street School Museum at Shields Road, Kelvingrove galleries at Kelvinhall subway, the Gallery of Modern Art in Merchant Square and the People’s Palace near St. Enoch are at the top of the list of places to see if you don’t go anywhere else.

Outside of the city centre circuit there are many more attractions that can be reached by bus. I find the best places tend to be in the Southside of the city but there are many more on the outskirts of the city. Some include The Burrell Collection in Shawlands, Pollok House and Country park in Pollok, The Glasgow Science Museum and Tramway gallery and gardens in Pollokshields.

There are also many parks around Glasgow most of which have Victorian glasshouses, housing aquariums and collections of exotic plants. The best parks to go are Glasgow Green, Kelvingrove Park in the west end and Queens Park in the south side.

Nights out

The city centre is mostly filled with clubs and swanky bars. Merchant city is the place if you’re looking for an expensive cocktail, where the more reasonable bars are along Bath Street and Sauchiehall Street. If you’re into your dancing the city centre has plenty of nightclubs to choose from. Most of them are along Sauchiehall Street some being Campus, Garage, The Classrooms, and the Savoy aka ‘Suave Sav’.

Personally I feel the best place to experience Glasgow is in its West End. I feel this is where the real Glasgow is, it is another world compared to anywhere else in the city. My favourite place to go is Ashton Lane. Close by to Hillhead subway lies a little cul-de-sac filled with award winning restaurants and bars. Favourites include Brel (where Billy Connolly often frequents), The Chip, The Loft, Vodka Wodka and a few others. During the summer this is home to Ashton Lane and the West End festivals and is the busiest, but best time to go.

If you’re looking for an evening of entertainment, Glasgow has many venues that offer a range of shows, gigs and concerts. There is the SECC, Braehead Arena, Carling Academy, The Arches and the Barrowlands where all types of artist perform, including many big names. If you’re looking for a show there is the Royal Concert Hall, the King’s Theatre and the Tron theatre with something different showing all the time. Glasgow also has two comedy clubs, one in the city centre called Joungleurs near Buchanan bus station and the other one in the West End called The Stand.

The author writes for  Glasgow tours where you can learn about UK destinations and search freely for the absolute best hotel deals worldwide.

Starting A Career In Journalism

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There are many different types of journalism styles out there to choose from when starting a career in journalism. You may have already decided on a style that interests you but whether you are into Gonzo journalism or reporting news, most journalists start from ground zero and build themselves and their reputation up from there. No matter what style you chose in the end there are some important things to remember in order to get your work noticed.

There are certain traits a budding journalist will already need to have when embarking on a career in journalism. A good journalist must have; a keen interest in people, an inquisitive nature, ability to meet deadlines and outstanding communication skills. Basically, if you are not interested in what people have to say, their emotions and their achievements you simply can not function as a journalist.

Take up a part time course

I have met many people who have found taking an evening or at home journalism course very helpful. They won’t teach you all you possibly need to know but they give you a good base to start with. You can find courses like this at most local colleges that run during the year or even shorter courses for ten weeks at a time. Online journalism schools especially offer an array of courses which are more specialized such as sports journalism, community journalism, photo journalism, feature articles, conducting interviews, shorthand and many more. It will give you a base to start gaining experience which all journalists need. You never know, it might open doors to other things!

Cross your T’s and dot your I’s!

I really can not stress enough the importance of spelling, punctuation and grammar. Sending off work that has not been spell checked or edited will only look bad on you and will tarnish your reputation. An editor might think you have a good story, but they do not have time to correct mistakes as they have deadlines too. An important tip to remember is to never not proof read your own work and to double check over and over!

Read and write whenever you get the chance

Try to read whatever you can get your hands on. It is important for a journalist to keep up to date and analyse other styles that are out there. This will also help you develop a good news sense. It is a good tip from early on to archive clippings of any articles you have written, as you might need to fall back on them later.

Try and read and rewrite smaller articles as much as you can. This is a good habit to pick up to keep you in the ‘write’ frame of mind. I find it helps before writing anything as the words seems to flow more.

When I first started writing as a freelance journalist the only way I could really publicize myself was to write for free for a local community newspaper. Free jobs like these I feel is where the most experience is gained as you get the chance to strengthen your style and build up the speed in which you can produce a good article. It will give you a good opportunity to build up relationships with editors and get to know good contacts.

There are also many different outlets out there that you can use to advertise your work. The internet is one of the best for this. You can also start your own website, blog, ghost write… There are many websites that offer new and experienced writers places to showcase their work. With the internet especially, there are no limits to what you can do!

The author writes for several websites including UK Travel Guide, The Creative Writer and the make money from writing site where you will find lots of tips and information about making money from writing and free writers tools worth over $3000.

Smile Away The Years

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Approaching her mid thirties, Lydia was terrified of looking and growing older. Then in the summer of 1991 I read in a national newspaper about a new book that had been released that could help you to look younger. Lydia’s birthday was the following week so I thought perfect and trotted off to WH Smiths and bought Eva Fraser’s Facial Workout for £3.99.

When I got home I was curious yet dubious about the content, especially as at the top of the front cover it states ‘Look fifteen years younger’. I read it through and it made more sense than the promises on the labels of expensive lotions and potions, so I kept that copy for myself and bought another for Lydia.

At the time I was training regularly at a gym and had learned that exercising the muscles in my body was helping to tone my skin up and diminish the dreaded cellulite. This book takes exercise one-step further and teaches you how to use the muscles in your face to tone your skin up.

The following is an extract from the introduction:

‘The muscles of the face differ from those of the body in that they are attached directly to the skin that covers them. This means that when the facial muscles sag, the skin attached to them sags too. In fact the slackening of the facial muscles is one of the main causes of the sagging and drooping that most of us eventually experience, leading to bags under the eyes, loose folds of skin on the upper eyelids, pouches, jowls, turkey-necks. If the body were as neglected as so many faces appear to be, some of us would have muscles so wasted away that we would barely be able to walk.’

Maybe an exaggeration, but we’ve all heard it said that there are more muscles in your face than the rest of your body and that smiling a lot keeps you looking younger. If you follow those thoughts through then you know that there should be a lot that you can do for yourself to help you to look younger and there are very detailed instructions in this book.

Before you start the exercises you prepare yourself by learning how and why they work. You are warned that results don’t happen overnight because your facial muscles have been sitting there mostly unused for all of your years. As with any type of exercise you need to start out gradually and build up, but once you are used to the exercises you will only need to spend about 10 minutes on them every day.

Apart from facial exercises you are taught how to relieve tension and stress and given tips on how to look after your body. There are illustrations and written instructions for all of the exercises that help to make the book very easy to follow. I decided to give the exercises a try back in 91 and started by warming up which is basically relaxing for a few minutes.

Neck Exercises

I often used to get neck ache through tension and found the gentle exercises a real help towards relieving the pain.

Eye Exercises

Not sure what they are meant to achieve but according to Eva the look up, down, sideways exercises are a vital part of your routine.

Basic Workout

There are five workout programmes and you start with The Basic Workout and slowly build up to the fifth The Advanced Workout over a period of months. At first you do the exercises twice a day for 5 minutes and later cut that down to about 2 minutes twice a day – I cheated and did them all in one go.

Before you start you should follow a few basic rules: don’t do the exercises when you are tired, always clean make up or creams off your face and only use Vaseline under your eyes. Stand or sit in front of a mirror and always start with the neck and eye warm up exercises. As my mirror is next to my kitchen window I’m sure that the neighbours wondered what on earth I was up to. Not for long though, once you are used to doing the exercises you can do them anywhere and without a mirror.

It’s hard to describe what the exercises are like but I’ll try. The first 3 exercises involve smiling slowly and holding for a few seconds then relaxing and breathing. The next 2 are lifting your cheek muscles towards the corners and then centre of your eyes, hold for a few seconds then relax and breathe. Exercise 6 is snarling and exercise 7 is raising your eyebrows. You do that workout for a couple of weeks or until you are used to it and then move on to the next stage. I remember finding the Basic Workout very easy and thinking that my facial muscles must have been well exercised already with all of the smiling that I do.

Basic Workout Plus

You continue to do the basic workout but now there are 6 more exercises to add which combined take about 10 minutes. With this new routine you exercise the muscles at the right side of your face and then the left. The smiling didn’t help me here; at first I couldn’t budge those muscles no matter how hard I tried. Gradually I learned to control the targeted muscles and was able to move them more and more. As the book tells you, one side of your face is usually weaker than the other. My weak side was the left but in time it seemed to become as strong as the right. Once you are totally used to the exercises you discard the first 2 workouts and move on to the next one.

Intermediate Workout

You only need to do this routine once a day and for 5 or 6 days a week and you should use a mirror and concentrate hard. The 7 exercises are meant to strengthen your neck, mouth corners and lower and upper cheek muscles and are similar to the exercises in the Basic Workout. This time round you add more stages to each exercise and I realised that if I hadn’t completed the first 2 routines it would have been impossible to use my muscles so demandingly if that’s the right word.

Intermediate Workout Plus

Once I was completely familiar with the Intermediate Workout I added the Intermediate Workout Plus to my session. The routine is similar to the last one but you again exercise each side of your face separately. After a few weeks you should be ready for the last stage.

Advanced Workout

I caffled (copped out) with most of this stage and just added some of the under chin and forehead exercises to the last routine. I was not going to wear rubber gloves and put my fingers in my mouth and pull my face about no matter how young it might make me look – there are some things that even I will not do to experiment.

Do The Exercises Work?

Even without completing the last stage I noticed a significant improvement in my skin tone as time passed. Before I began the exercises my skin looked dull and lacked elasticity, I had awful moments when putting make up on or removing it. Just stretching the skin around my eyes a little sometimes produced saggy lines that didn’t bounce back until hours afterwards. Gradually as the elasticity returned to my skin I eliminated that horrible effect.

The most noticeable difference was in the mornings after drinking sessions and there were plenty of good times back then. My skin would look tired and dull and the elasticity was poor. 10 minutes of facial exercises and my skin looked and felt great. So yes they do work if you stick to them, most people guessed my age to be about 30 after I had been doing them for a few years but I was closer to 40.

Alas I gradually stopped doing the exercises – too much interest from toy boys became tiresome when maturity was of more interest to me!!! I started doing them again 3 weeks ago when I decided to write this review. I felt then that it was better to experience part of it again than to just write from memory. Already my facial muscles are starting to feel toned up again and my skin looks a little better – who knows if I will keep it up!

Make Up And Hair

In the middle of the book there are several glossy pages with coloured pictures offering advice on make up and hair. Some of the tips are useful and especially a recommendation to always use Vaseline underneath your eyes instead of moisturiser. Years ago I started to get little white spots underneath my eyes and was told that it was due to a build up of moisturiser. I used Vaseline after reading the book and the white spots gradually faded.

Diet

This section isn’t just about losing weight but how we feel in ourselves. We are given information about the different vitamins and minerals and how they can affect your health and well-being.

Skincare

This part explains why your skin ages and lists sun, pollution, smoking, diet, alcohol, caffeine, detergents and soaps, winds and cold, lack of sleep and exercise as many of the reasons. We are then given advice on how to improve and take care of your skin. I didn’t know previously that iced water can be harmful to the skin on your face and neck – some people use iced water as beauty treatments.

It helps to exfoliate the skin on your body and face at least once a week and remove the dead cells. For your face you can use a towel rubbed in gentle circles every day, but on your body and hands table salt does the job well and costs less than expensive beauty products.

Exercises and Fitness

The next section details exercises for all parts of your body including some to reduce stiffness in your fingers. I found the leg exercises particularly useful to help trim the fat and reduce cellulite.

Massage and Circulation

This chapter shows you the pressure points on your face and neck and how to relieve tense muscles with massage.

Tips And Advice

The last section offers dressing tips to help you look slimmer and younger, colour sense and how to choose a hairstylist. Most of it is pretty standard advice like avoiding clingy jersey fabrics or tight underwear that shows bulges underneath your clothes.

Final Thoughts

The £3.99 that I spent on this book was money well spent. I got a lot of use out of it for several years and although it was hidden away in the cupboard until a few weeks ago I can see from looking at it again that I have followed some of the advice automatically and found it very useful. The routines are easy to follow and they don’t take much time up. If you want to improve your skin or look and feel younger without spending money on expensive lotions and potions that may or may not work I can highly recommend Eva Fraser’s Facial Workout.

You will find the paperback currently at Amazon for £5.99 and the video for £8.47. Also available for on amazon.com is Eva Frasers Face and Body Program for $78.97.

P.S. Lydia was offended by the gift at first because she thought I was saying that she looked old rather than my intention being to help her to allay her fears. A few months later she thanked me and said that it was one of the best presents that she had ever received.

Bon Jovi Songs – Memories Of A Bon Jovi Concert

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Whenever I hear any Bon Jovi songs I am reminded of the time that I went to a Bon Jovi concert on Saturday 6th July 1996. The concert at the Milton Keynes Superbowl was towards the end of the mammoth These Days tour that started on 26th April 1995 at the Andheri Stadium Bombay, India and ended on 19th July 1996 at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.

It took my boyfriend and myself over 3 hours to drive to Milton Keynes and we had to queue for 4 hours until 2pm to get into the Superbowl. It was one of those quirky English weather days, one minute the very hot sun was beating down on us and the next there was torrential freezing cold rain.

When we got into the arena we were able to get a spot at the front of the stage but as more fans arrived and blocked us in I became claustrophobic and worried that I wouldn’t be able to escape to the loo during the next 8 hours. I left Mark hugging the front of the stage and escaped to sit on a hillock where I got a pretty good view of the proceedings as the support bands Seven, Gun and Joan Osborne performed.

The most memorable being Joan Osbornes performance, she was great but the weather was still being quirky and it became pretty uncomfortable sitting on grass while soaked to the skin. I wandered round for a few hours and became more uncomfortable as a bloke took a fancy to me and started to harass me despite being told that I was with my boyfriend.

Seeing my discomfort a group of Bon Jovi fans told the bloke to leave me alone and asked me to join them. That was lucky for me in 2 ways, one that it got rid of my stalker and the other in that we were in a marvellous position to watch the show, close to the stage but to the right – away from the main crush of fans.

It was just before 7.00pm and I was feeling tired, very wet and shivering from the cold. I couldn’t have been wetter if I had stood in a pool fully clothed. As I tried to warm my by now numb blue hands I was miserably wishing that I hadn’t agreed to go to the concert.

A few minutes later a helicopter arrived and shortly afterwards I could see the band climbing up the steps to the stage. I did a double take at seeing Jon, he was dressed in a tight tan leather jumpsuit which gave the impression of him being naked from a distance.

The band started up and for 2 hours my discomfort was forgotten as Bon Jovi launched into a string of their hits including Always, It’s My Life, You Give Love A Bad Name, Someday I’ll Be A Saturday Night and my long time favourite Living On A Prayer.

Imagine a sea of over 60,000 fans joining in with the choruses, swaying, waving and punching the air together. It was a spectacular sight on and off stage as Bon Jovi rocked the Superbowl. I was enthralled with the bands performance and stirred by the music and the interaction from the crowd.

I felt disappointed when a fireworks display ended the magnificent performance 2 hours on, but afterwards Bon Jovi reappeared for an air punching encore to round off the show.

I was still very wet and cold but warmed by a magnificent performance from the entire band. I absolutely recommend seeing Bon Jovi in concert and despite my discomfort I would go through it all over again – it was worth it.

As for my boyfriend I dumped him after the show. I don’t rate a guy that lets a woman he is supposed to care about wander off on their own for hours in a strange place and in a 60,000 plus crowd. He cared more about getting a place close to the stage than my safety. I probably ended up with a better view than he did and I was able to go to the loo when I wanted!

12 years on I am still a big fan of Bon Jovi songs and hope that I get a chance to see them in concert again, but perhaps an indoor concert!

Check out the Mega Music Site for music articles and  Mega Music Videos where bands can upload their videos and audios free and music lovers can freely listen to or download the videos or audios.

Writing Reviews For Article Marketing

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There are several review sites on the Internet and for two years I regularly submitted reviews to two of them. Reviews are a writer’s opinion of a product or service and writing and submitting them are in some ways similar but also different to writing for article marketing. In this article I am going to make comparisons and show how I think that reviews can be used in article marketing.

Detail and Information

For me writing reviews was good grounding for article marketing. I had previously written articles for home business magazines but when I started to write reviews I soon found that I needed to add more detail and information to do well in the review site ratings and earnings, sometimes it could get a bit silly when over critical members would want to know every little detail about packaging when the site owners did not.

The more detail and information we add to an article the better. Some article marketers split their information into several articles instead of writing one information packed article. That may work better for getting quick back links but if I tried to do that I would feel as if I was selling myself and readers short. There is always the option of using part 1, 2, 3 etc in the article titles but if a site visitor looking for information found part 3 first would they bother to look for parts 1 and 2 when they can just click back to the search engine and find a full article on the subject that they are interested in?

As we are always hopeful that a publisher may use our articles as website or ezine content I suspect that if an article comes in several parts it would have to be really good to stand a chance of being chosen.

Warts And All

There is a difference between reviews written for sites like Ciao and Dooyoo and reviews written for article marketing. On the review sites you review a product warts and all. The reviews need to be honest because it is useful feedback for manufacturers and because the review sites are communities your credibility is at stake amongst other members. The rewards are not very high even for top writers, but I guess that would depend on which area of the world that you live in.

Most of the reviews that I’ve seen in article or Internet marketing are full of praise and no warts. You know that the authors are trying to sell a product or get readers to join the latest millionaire making affiliate programme. You also know that many of the reviews will be dishonest because the authors are trying to gain product or affiliate sales.

In article marketing the rewards are backlinks to your sites and hopefully syndication of your articles to get more backlinks. The money that can be earned through article marketing is greater and especially if an article goes viral, but as with review sites you do not earn anything if you do not get it right.

Getting Content Right

Getting the content right for reviews and article marketing is much the same. Quality, information, legibility, correct grammar and punctuation, advice, detail, layout and for me simplifying technical explanations to a level that most can understand. That last one was my idea! If a reviewer is writing about a particular model of mp3 player and that review is found in a search for information about mp3 players by somebody interested in buying one; and the reader cannot understand the technical jargon then they are going to look elsewhere for advice.

The same applies to article marketing. If your article about mp3 players is linking back to your site or blog that incidentally has adverts for mp3 players you want the reader to go all the way down to the bottom and click on your link, not click away because you have lost their understanding part way through. As a publisher looking for website content I would be more likely to go for an article that is easy to understand rather than one giving the same information but full of technical jargon. That is unless you are aiming your article towards techie sites and that’s a whole different ball game.

When you write product reviews for the review sites you do not need to think about key words and phrases as in article marketing, though if the review sites pay per visitor click it’s not a bad idea to use them. In article marketing we learn to use key words and phrases in our article titles and article body, but when we use too many it can make an article harder to understand and read. If a publisher is looking for good content that will capture visitors interest and keep them on their site longer they will be happy with key words and phrases used in context with an article but not if they are too many and placed where they don’t fit.

Knowing Your Subject

When you review a product you are expected be familiar with and have used the product enough to be able to give a fair assessment of it. For instance a review about a washing machine that you have been using regularly for several months is far more credible and useful as feedback and for prospective buyer information than a review about a washing machine that you have only just bought and used twice.

The same should apply to article marketing and in many cases it happens, but there are also lots of contrived articles. The best writers can carry it off and make it seem as if they use a product or service but many writers cannot fake it. It is pretty obvious that they have gleaned their information from sales spiel and the lack of user experience in an article lowers it’s worth for readers looking for information and publishers looking for content.

My biggest bugbear is travel articles. I love reading about different places from a visitors point of view. Contrived travel articles are generally boring and next to useless for readers who want to know what a place is really like and are looking for tips before they book their holiday. If I couldn’t produce more information than can be found on a travel brochure I would not write about a place.

Do Reviews Work In Article Marketing

I think that there is a place for reviews in article marketing and if they are well written and show user experience they are good for publishers to use as content. Reviews can be written about almost any product or service giving a wide range of subjects to write about – as long as that product or service isn’t your own!

The author Patricia Jones owns top travel article directory Articles Abroad which offers travel information free submission and free content for travel websites and ezines.

Weather Glasgow, Meet Scotlands People And Enjoy Your Stay In The City Of Glasgow

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800px-Glasgow_westend_(31)Glasgow weather can be unpredictable but whether the sun shines or not on the city of Glasgow it’s an amazing place to visit or live in. Like most of Scotlands people Glaswegians are friendly and as full of character as the city itself.

Everyone I know outside of Glasgow asks me if I eat deep fried Mars bars for breakfast. To be honest, it’s not a part of my staple diet let alone that of most Glaswegians. I think this more of a myth, but I’m sure a few partake in one or two when watching Glasgow’s very own soap opera, River City.

I will never forget the first time that I met Glasgow. Walking through its city centre I felt like a borrower with the magnificent Victorian buildings looming over me. All around Glasgow there are many surviving buildings from the Victorian and Georgian era, surrounded by its modern age.

Once a ship building hub in the early twentieth century, Glasgow has taken a number of leaps and bounds to become what it is today. Titled ‘The second city of the empire’ during Queen Victoria’s reign, walking around you will quickly see why. There is plenty to see and experience in Glasgow, but this is what I want people to see. This is how I see Glasgow.

Getting Around

Glasgow is lucky enough to have its own underground subway system known as the ‘Clockwork Orange’ (appropriately named for its bright colours), which allows you to get around the city with great ease. You might feel as if you’re in a toy carriage and may get a face full of armpit but its quick and reliable, as they tend to run every few minutes until 11:30pm on weekdays and on Saturdays. I personally don’t mind the subway, but there are many that do. My advice is to hold your nose and hang on tight!

Our bus services are pretty reliable and fairly easy to figure out and especially good for those attractions outside the city centre. However make sure you get on at the right stop. I didn’t do this and ended up going on a two hour tour of the city, not knowing where I was and two hours late for work!

One thing I have found is that the bus drivers are among the friendliest I have ever encountered in the world. A few years ago walking from Queen Street Train Station to Buchanan Street Bus Station a kind bus driver carried my bags all the way up the hill, not taking no for an answer. Don’t be scared to ask them for directions, they don’t bite.

There is also a great network of train stations throughout the city, the main ones being Queen Street and Central Station. A great pointer; If you want to get anywhere quickly such as Edinburgh and the surrounding areas, Queen Street train station is your best bet.

The taxis in Glasgow are not badly either compared to most cities. The private cab companies are the cheapest but even the black cabs are reasonable. To get from Glasgow airport to the city center it will cost around fifteen pounds and even less than that for a private cab.
Glasgow Shopping

Glasgow’s main shopping district covers most of the heart of the city centre along Buchanan Street, Argyle Street and Sauchiehall Street. It’s quite hard to get lost around there and pretty self explanatory – it only took me a day or so to get my bearings.

Here you will find anything from your everyday high street stores to the more posh and up market designer shops around Princes Square and Merchant City. All around the city centre are hidden gems that are often missed such as the Gallery of Modern Art in Merchant city and the Lighthouse hidden away on Mitchell Lane.

Entertainment

There is a lot of entertainment on offer in Glasgow but highlight of the Glasgow entertainment calendar is the annual Glasgow Comedy festival. In March 2008 there were over 350 shows to choose from! Glasgow is a must when planning your Scotland tours there is a massive amount on offer.

The author writes for Articles Abroad travel article directory the the creative writer where you will find lots of tips and information about writing and Scotland tours where you can search freely for the absolute best hotel deals worldwide.

A Review Of Child Safety Online

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The advent of the Internet added new dimensions to the lives of computer users, many of them good, but as with a lot of things in life there is a downside. Many thousands of adults get caught out by online scammers and as we expect children to be more gullible than adults they need protecting from predators, making child safety online absolutely essential.

Protecting our children is mainly common sense, but for those who are new to the Internet it can be baffling without knowing what to watch out for and how to deal with problems. Before I review the ebook I’ll tell you about my friend and her daughter.

Five years ago my friend’s 12 year old daughter was groomed by an online predator and my friend had no idea what was happening until it was too late. She thought that her daughters growing behavioural problems were down to the transition from childhood to becoming a teenager – those difficult years. My friend didn’t know that she was using school and a friends computer to go online and visit chat rooms. That her daughter lost her childhood to a monster more than twice her age who she met in a chat room.

My friend fought back and was even instrumental in getting the law changed to help protect children more. It took a long time and a lot of pain and sorrow for all of the family before things got back to anything like normal. Although things are much better now the harrowing events of 5 years ago have tainted their lives and that can never be altered.

Whats In The Ebook

In Child Safety Online there are detailed tips of what parents should watch out for and how to deal with any potential problems from perverts. Apart from online predators there are other dangers which include pornographic websites, bullying, gambling and online games that are not suitable for children.

In this ebook you learn about two types of Child Internet Protection Software and how to use them. Also step by step instructions are given on how to find out what sites your children have visited and how to block them from accessing any danger sites. There are even sections on identity theft, spyware and malware and how to avoid and deal with the problems.

What I Think About It

Child Safety Online is well written and I felt that it explored potential problems and the warning signs to watch out for in children thoroughly. The ebook is full of excellent advice, in fact much better than I expected. To me the only downside was that parents could easily find themselves getting paranoid whilst reading the warning signs, but it’s a sad fact that sickos on the internet are a real threat and a little paranoia is less harmful than online predators who try to catch children at an impressionable age with the intent to do irreparable damage to those precious lives.

If you are worried about online threats to your children then I can recommend ‘Child Safety Online’ as a source of good information and advice.

Visit Ebook World for low cost ebooks, software and templates. You will even find genuine product reviews at Ebook World!!

Review of Singer Songwriter Steven Hitchens Debut Single Whoops

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Influenced by 90s stars Madonna, The Spice Girls, Blur and Oasis Steven Hitchens began writing songs at the very young age of 10. Two of those early songs were titled ‘Blue Blueday’ and ‘Extinction is Forever’.

Steven’s performing career began at a holiday village in Bognor Regis working from 9.00 am – 2.00 am organising games and activities for children and performing every night in cabaret shows. It’s even rumoured that he dressed up as Bradley Bear to help entertain the kids whilst his parents happily propped up the bar! He then built up more performing experience as he toured schools in Holland singing jazz and swing covers.

In 2004 Steven moved to London to attend drama school and that’s where many of his songs were written and sigh – where his heart was first broken. Steven still continues acting and hopes eventually that he will play himself in a film about his life when he becomes a mega music best selling recording artist. His acting training and experience should also stand him in good stead for making music videos.

When he left drama school Steven began to focus more on his music and in November 2007 Steven teamed up with singer songwriter Ben Adams and started to record his debut album which is due be released during the spring of 2009. Steven’s debut single ‘Whoops’, was released on the Internet on 3rd November 2008 – just in time for my birthday!

When I heard the title ‘Whoops’ I thought ‘oh no not one of those naff, catchy songs that are usually released in the run up to Christmas’. You know what I mean – the type of song that gets played for years to come at weddings and birthday parties that gets the grandparents up dancing with the kids. But, I promised to listen to and review Whoops so here goes.

<b>My Review</b>

On first listen I was pleasantly surprised. Yes it is one of those catchy songs, but it doesn’t remind me of anything else and has grown on me every time that I’ve listened to it. ‘Whoops’ suggests mistakes and the song is about a guy who cheats on his partner and is caught out and not for the first time. He wants forgiveness from the partner that he loves but you sorta know that it will happen again.

The chorus ‘Whoops did I do it again’ made me think about works Christmas parties and the embarrassing mistakes that happen. Imagine for weeks afterwards your workmates compounding your embarrassment with a rendition of the chorus every time that they see you!

As a debut single I like ‘Whoops ‘. It’s catchiness, upbeat tempo and singalongability score in its favour and especially as we are heading towards Christmas when it could become popular as a party livener. As a dance tune it also scores good in my book. I found myself wanting to dance and if a dance craze attaches itself to this song who knows how well it will do.

Singer Steve Hutchins who comes from Surrey in the UK certainly has the look of a pop star. I’m sure that the girls will love his moody good looks – I know that I do! Whoops  is now available from most digital retailers. As Steve will be releasing his first album next year I’m sure that we will hear much more from him in the future.

Competition so far for the Christmas season is Alesha Dixon’s ‘The Boy Does Nothing’. Played back to back with ‘Whoops’ at a club or party – that sounds like a fun time to me.

Visit Stevens website at: http://www.stevenhitchens.co.uk/

Patricia Jones writes for the Mega Music Talent blog where you can find an exclusive interview with Steven Hitchens and much more about music.

For information about the UK and free city travel guides with maps visit the UK Travel Guide

Dhr D. Van. Mark And My Over Due Inheritance

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Email scams are instantly recognisable to those of us who are not new to the internet and this one sent by Dhr D. Van. Mark is quite typical.

Good Day To You

Before i commence i would like to introduce my humble self to you am Dhr David Van Mark by name, agent of an International Remittance/Foreign Operations in Netherlands, the one in charge of your fund.

We are to notify you that your over due inheritance fund has been gazetted to be released, which is the sum of ( $5 million Us Dollars) to your nominated bank, we are sorry for the late communication.

Meanwhile a lady came to our office few days ago with a letter, claiming to be your true representative, here are her information below of which she asked us to make the transfer of your behalf immediately:

Name: name removed for privacy reasons
Address Line 1: Address removed for privacy reasons
Bank Name: Bank of America
Account Number: …………..
Routing Number: …………..
Driver’s Licence No: ……………
DOB: 06-03-45
Please. Do confirm to this office, as a matter of urgency if this lady is from you so that the management of this office will not be held responsible for paying your funds into a wrong bank account, with the office director, to handle and transfer all foreign inheritance funds this second quarter payment of the year.

However, we shall proceed to issue all payments details to name removed for privacy
reasons, if we do not hear from you within the next seven working days from today on. Get back to us as soon as you get these message.

Note you are required to get back to me through my private e-mail address davidvanmark@aol.nl

Send my warm regards to your friends and family and i pray that God will give you the wisdom to make use of the funds wisely and judiciously.

Best Regard,
Dhr D. Van. Mark

…………………………………………………………….

A $5,000,000 inheritance would set me up for life but I’m sure that it won’t be through this scammer. Apart from it being an obvious scam I was disgusted to find in a search that the lady named as my true representative exists and that the contact details were correct. Imagine how horrified this or any other 63 year old lady would be to discover that her details were being used in an effort to obtain money from others by fraudulent means. Her details will be in the scam email to push victims into replying quickly and I’m even wondering if she was a previous victim and that is how this jerk got hold of so much information.

Telling you that you have to reply to a different email address is an indication of it being a scam. The reason being that a scammer will use a free email account to spam potential victims, but once it has been reported the providers will close the account down. The second email address is to make sure that the victims can get through. I decided to reply to Dhr D. Van. Mark, to see what this scumbag had to say.

Dear Dhr D. Van. Mark,

Thank you for your email. I went away on the 8th for a few days to celebrate my birthday which was on the 8th. Perhaps I can consider your email as a birthday present if I’m not too late.

Are you sure that I am the right person that you are looking for? I really can’t think of anybody who might have left me all of that money though I did have a Dutch aunt who ran away with a Greek rock musician when she was 16 and my family have never heard from or of her since.

I know of no lady called name removed for privacy reasons nor do I know anybody who comes from the part of the world that she comes from. She is obviously not a representative of mine and if she comes to your office again please send her away with a flea in her ear.

I look forward to hearing from you again.

Sincerely
I. Kidder

…………………………………………………………….

Dhr D. Van. Mark replied within 3 hours and this is what he had to say:

OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR FOREIGN FUNDS
REMITTANCE & CASH TRANSFER DEPARTMENT.
ADDRESS: JONCKBLOETPLEIN 30-31,
REGENT’S PLACE, 2523 AS ‘S-GRAVENHAGE
NETHERLANDS
CONTACT NUMBER: +31 681758514

Attn: I. Kidder
Compliment of the day, your e-mail was recieved and well acknowledged,we have stopped any further transactions with
name removed for privacy reasons who claimed that she was sent by you to claim your inheritance/compersation funds totalling the sum of [$5million Usd] which was approved by the ministry of finance and that of ministry of Justice inconjuction with the International Remittance/Foreign Fund Operations Department here in Netherlands.

This office is entitled with all the payments/release and transfers of all funds,so right now you are required to re-confirm to this office the informations below so that we can be able to procure all the necessary documents/legal backings required for the transfer of the funds and also all the requirements involved in the fund transfer as demanded by the Duetch laws and ethics.

we don’t send funds to beneficiaries through western union money transfer to avoid misconduct and impersonation of which we have been encountering here since we resume with is project.
The informations required from you are as follows:

1. Full Name:
2. Address/Country:
3 Contact Number:
4. Age:
5. Occupation:
6. Marital Status:
7. Bank Name:
8. Bank Account Number:
9. Routing Number:
10. A scanned copy of your identity either Drivers licence or working identity card.

As soon as all this informations are recieved and verified by our payment director,it will be filled into our database and we will immediately commence with the transfer of the funds into your designated bank account there in your country.

Your swift response to this regards urgently needed.

Regards
Dhr D.Van.Mark
Director Of Operations

…………………………………………………………….

He has got to be joking I thought and wondered how long it would take him to clean me out and perhaps use my identity to further his dodgy dealings. I find it difficult to believe that anybody would send their personal details to a stranger, but thousands of emails will have been sent out and even if only one is suckered in by hope or greed it is worth it to a scammer.

I decided to play him along and replied to his email.

Dhr D.Van.Mark

Thank you for stopping transactions with name removed for privacy reasons. I really cannot do as you ask because my scanner is broken, but by coincidence I will be visiting Amsterdam next week. You are right to be concerned about security with western union money transfers, but that won’t be a problem because we can complete the payment whilst I’m in Holland.

Looking forward to meeting you.

I. Kidder

I haven’t heard back and I doubt that I will, nor do I ever want to. A search for variations of his name gave no results, but when I searched for the email I found that slight differences of the same email has been used with different details over and over again. This could be a new scamster trying it on or a seasoned one with a change of name. Whatever, this is a prime example of what is called a 401 Nigerian Fraud and scams like this were kicking around long before computers or the Internet were invented. The scumbags wouldn’t find it worthwhile if they couldn’t find victims so
watch out they’re out to get you!

Patricia Jones owns Articles Abroad travel article directory and the UK Travel Guide where you can download free city travel guides with maps.