Day 18 – Accidentally, A Great Week for My New Book!

January 18, 2026January 18, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller5 Comments

Accidentally, I had a great week promoting my new book, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry!

Much of my promotions for most of my twelve years in the book business have been accidental—and this week it was for sure!

Part 1 – Accidentally

As a promotional idea, I did a Goodreads Giveaway from December 28 – January 09, 2026. I gave away 100 copies of this book. 736 readers participated in the Giveaway. Because Amazon owns Goodreads, they downloaded the 100 copies without paying for them. Because I have been checking my Dashboard in KDP.com often, where I publish my books, the 100 copies shocked me. So, it took me awhile to figure out the increase in sales of 100 books with no royalties. The good news—that movement of books made Time Measured Out! #1 in three categories:

Book sellers rank on Amazon - accidentally

You might wonder why I would do a Giveaway of so many books? Here’s the stats after the Giveaway on Goodreads: 661 want to read it and 694 added the book to their shelf in Goodreads. It now has a 4.2 rating out 5 there. So I could benefit it in the future.

Part 2 – Accidentally

Because of my excellent coach, Derek Doepker, and coaching group, I entered my book in the possible “BookBub New Release for Less” promotional. I had been warned by Derek any of BookBub’s promotionals are highly sought after and well worth it. I have entered other books in the past and not been selected. This time I was, and it was for January 13, 2026. Yes, it costs a lot, but the results were supposed to offset the cost.

Part 3 – Accidentally

No, the sales did not cover the cost, but the promotion caused an increase in sales. Because of the increase in sales, the book bounced between #1 Best Seller in the Poetry about Love category and #1 New Release in Poetry About Women on January 11. Then on January 12, it stayed #1 Best Seller in about Love and #1 New Release in Poetry About Women and stayed there until on January 14. Then it was Top New Release in Poetry About Love. Amazon algorithms likes all of those identifications, so then they do more organic promoting of that book.

Amazon Ranking Data about Time book - accidentally

Two above on January 11, 2026

Happily, the promotion increased the sales of the first book in the poetry series, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry. And who know what the long-term results will be.

Finally,

Accidentally—yes, but I am going to write this formula down for my next book because it seemed to fit together nicely—first a Goodreads Giveaway and second apply for a promotion on BookBub in a timely manner. I’m proud of what happened, even if it was accidental.

I have a hard time with marketing and promoting my books. It costs money; it takes time to do all the work and it needs to be planned out and executed a month ahead of time—and I’d rather be writing! But guess what? I have put together a Marketing Plan for this year, so we’ll see what happens—wish me luck!

Larada Horner-Miller - accidentally — I’m working on my Marketing Plan for 2026. Any suggestions?

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 e-book

ISBN – 9798989688654

$.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688623

ALWAYS FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688630

$3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book

ISBN – 978-0996614498

$3.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir audiobook cover

My Thoughts · My Writing · Self-publishing

Day 15 – Handy & Used Often: Writing Tools I Can’t Live Without!

January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 Larada Horner-MillerLeave a comment

Handy writing tools make my life as an author/blogger/poet so much easier. Here’s two I have used for years and one I added in the last few years.

Scrivener 3.5.2

This app has become my go-to for beginning and organizing any writing project because of its power to keep everything in one place. Now, I don’t have to wonder where my files are—they are all in this app.

I really realized its power when I wrote the biography of Marshall Flippo, Just Another Square Dance Caller. I had 258,000 words to start with and so much research and files. This program saved my life! And I continue to use it today.

Tailor-made for long writing projects
Has Project Templates for Blank, Fiction (Novel, Novel with Parts, and Short Story),
Non-Fiction (Essay – Chicago Style, General Non-Fiction, Non-Fiction with Sub-heads, Paper –
APA, Paper – MLA, Research Proposal, Undergraduate Humanities Essay), Scriptwriting (BBC
Radio Scene Style, BBC Taped Dramas, Comic Script, Documentary Script, Screenplay, Stage
Play (UK), Poetry & Lyrics and Miscellaneous (Persuasive Lecture and Recipe Collection). It
has an Interactive Tutorial, User Manual and Video Tutorials.
k Scrivener 3.5.2 costs $59

How To Navigate

1. Download app – have Free Trial – and install.

2. Open App and select Template

3. Gives General Suggestions on Genre – Can import

4. LEFT MENU: Collections & Binder Info – Different for each genre – Shows your folders and files

5. MENU ACROSS THE TOP OF WINDOW: Differs with each genre

6. TOP MENU: File, Edit, Insert, View, Navigate, Project, Documents, Format, Window, Help

7. INSPECTOR – on the side

8. Backups when you save and quit–QUIT APP EACH TIME so that a backup version is generated. Important if there’s any problems later.

How to Add URL’s to Research Folder

1. Go to Research Folder

2. Go File>Import>Web Page

3. Paste in URL

4. Page appears in Research Folders

Resources:

Basic Help – https://scrivener.tenderapp.com/help/kb
Forums – Literature & Latte – https://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum/index.php
8 Ways Scrivener Will Help You Become A Proficient Writer Overnight

8 Ways Scrivener Will Help You Become A Proficient Writer Overnight

Vellum

This program has grown with me and offers amazing beautiful choices today it didn’t have originally. It costs more than some of the other apps in its class, but I feel it’s worth it! As I’m working, I can see a preview to the right of what it will look like in the device selected. And recently they have added beautiful designs for lead pages in a chapter, emojos and so much more.

Gorgeous Print Interiors
Beautiful Ebooks

How to

1. Download Vellum & install

2. Open – Immediately you have the choice to “Import Word File, so click and import document.

3. MENU IN OPEN WINDOW: Navigator and Preview

4. LEFT MENU: Contents & Styles

Contents – Placed your document into chapters.

Styles – Choices for Heading, First Paragraph, Paragraph After Break, Ornamental Break, Block Quotation, Verse, Photograph, Portrait, Caption, Header and Footer, & Body

5. MENU ACROSS BODY: Asterisk Pull down Menu (Subhead, Ornamental Break, Image,Alignment Block, List, Block Quotation, Verse, Web Link and Store Link–PUT ALL TEXT WITHIN ONE OF THESE FOR FORMATTING. Bold, Italics and Underline text. Pull-down Arrow for Font Choices: Small Caps, Sans Serif, Monospace, Superscript Up, Superscript Down, Strikethrough. Right Margin Word Count: Total Document

6. MENU ACROSS PREVIEW: Ebook Formats or Print, Move Forward or Back in Document, Generate Button

7. TOP MENU: File, Edit, Chapter, Text, View, Window, and Help

8. SAVE OFTEN

Resources:

Official Web Site – https://vellum.pub
Review – https://www.facebook.com/groups/818116160203635/posts/1262135099135070/?comment_id=1262168185798428
How to Format Your Ebook and Print book with Vellum by Joanna Penn

Self-Publishing Tips: How To Format An Ebook And Print Book With Vellum

Squoosh

When I wrote Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? in 2021, I had lots of photos because of the topic. I’m a visual learner and I felt the photos helped offset the depth of the emotions we felt with the pandemic. When I published it as an e-book, it’s size was off the map, so after a session with my book coach and group, my book coach asked if I compressed the pictures. No, I had not even thought of it. So I went looking for an app and found Squoosh and have been using it ever since. On top of that, it’s FREE for both Mac and PC.

I use it weekly to compress the beautiful photos I include in my weekly blog. Since 2021, I use it to compress the photos I include in any e-book.

How to

Download the app
Open app
Click and drag photo into app
Immediately it compresses photo, but I usually go Under the Edit menu on the right to the Resize part & select “Preset” on the menu to the right, and resize it by 50% more.
Then to save it, click on the download icon at the bottom of the menu on the right.

That’s it!

Resources:

Official Website: – https://squoosh.app
Review

I found the best image compressor tool, it is called Squoosh. Simple, Clean, Does it job. (Not sponsored)
byu/ishibam97 indevelopersIndia

Finally,

Writers need all the support we can get. These three apps have helped me tremendously over the years! Yes, they are handy and make my life so much more sane.

Larda Horner-Miller - handy — Yes, I smile because of these three handy writing tools!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 – $.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book or $3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

My Books · My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry

Day 12 – Instructions for Living a Life—Mary Oliver-Style!

January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller3 Comments

“Instructions for living a life:

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell about it.”

~Mary Oliver, “Sometimes”

Mary Oliver’s Instructions for Living a Life resonated with my heart and soul the first time I read it. Because of that, I have quoted it at the beginning of both of my poetry books in the Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry series.

So I thought I’d share the Introduction to my new book, Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry.

Introduction With Instructions

Life’s all about paying attention and not letting the world pass you by. Some call it mindfulness. That’s a big order, but I see that’s what I did over the years with my poetry by being present and seeing the specifics in my life around me. Prior to writing poetry and taking note of my life, years escaped me! The poet arose in me, and this is what transpires: I write poetry when I’m happy, when I’m sad. I write about what’s important—and about what’s trivial.

And now you’re getting a peek into me. Not only am I sharing the vulnerability in my poetry, but in my life.

This is the second book of poetry in a five-book poetry series that chronicles my journey from 1986 to the present, showcasing both diﬃcult times and, ultimately, my most fulfilling era. It all changed at fifty-eight and my fourth marriage, but that’s much later, in book #5.

My first book in this series, Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, which covered my life in poetry from 1986 to 1998, won a Gold Award in the Global Book Awards and second place for poetry in the Next Best Reads Writing Contest, which felt so aﬃrming.

When I choose a title for my books, I consult my husband. I gave him the list of poems chronicling my life from 2000-2003, and he quickly came up with Time Measured Out. I love how this title captures not only the transformative time this was for me, but my playfulness in poetry, as well.

So much happened in the years this book covers, not just for me personally, but also globally. Because I worked as a middle school teacher, I did a lot of my writing during the summer, sitting in the passenger seat, my ex-husband driving down the road to the next square and round dance festival. The summers were my time to write, to travel, to get away from the crushing schedule of teaching, and to see our country near and far—and to dance!

Introduction Continues with Instructions

In 2000, my ex-husband, Ted, and I bought a Four Winds Majestic Flyer Class C motorhome in preparation for our 2001 road trip to Alaska on the Al-Can Highway. I dubbed the summer of 2000 “The Majestic Flyer Summer,” after our RV, as we tested it out while traveling to dance festivals.

We spent hours planning our Alaska trip, and my excitement grew as we prepared. We traveled north to the Canadian border then followed the Al-Can Highway from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Delta Junction, Alaska, via Whitehorse, Yukon. The rough uneven roads made it an adventure for me, but Ted as the driver grew tired of it. But our journey didn’t go how either of us expected. We broke up in Homer, Alaska in one of the most picturesque spots, the ocean surrounding us. Ted took me to Anchorage to my cousin, then I flew home, leaving him to drive the RV back.

After our breakup, I sought refuge at the Santuario de Chimayó for the second time, but how diﬀerent my experience was this time compared to my first visit in 1991 (see book #1)!

My ex-husband and I tried to resolve our diﬀerences for seven more years, but our reconciliation didn’t fare smoothly. We did have some good times sprinkled in, but it was mostly trouble, chaos, and agony. We struggled until 2008, and I share our final breakup in book #4. Amid this, I continued to turn to poetry to make sense of life—my writing comforted me and helped me survive, and survive I did!

Introduction & Instructions Ends

Though there’ve been deep struggles in my life, my positivity always weaves its way through. In this book, you’ll see me repeatedly struggle with my relationship with my ex-husband and how I viewed myself because of it—a dysfunctional relationship at its worst! Yet I bounced back, resilient. If you’ve had similar experiences, resilience saved our lives!

The book will draw near its end with poems I wrote in celebration of my niece for her thirtieth birthday and, lastly, a tribute to my mom. Ending this book with my thoughts about Mom brings a smile to my lips and an ache to my heart! Yes, Mom, you end this second book—so apropos!

Just a reminder! Someone wrote this comment in a review on Goodreads about Was It a Dream?: “There were a few places where these poems felt amateur. In some ways that adds to the charm, but I can’t help wanting to poke at them and try to use one of the many tools we have to make poetry more eﬀective.”

Please remember this poetry series dates back to 1986, and I didn’t polish any of the poems. I wanted you, the reader, to see my progression through the years as a poet. Refraining from “fixing” them felt risky, yet I committed myself and you to this journey. And, yes—it’s been hard!

Step into my world of poetry, and don’t look back. You might decide to grab a seat and linger or even stay.

Finally,

These three short lines of instructions have become my motto in life. I always want to remember them and be sure and adhere to them—otherwise, I lose essence of the life I’m living! My poetry will direct me!

Larada Horner-Miller - instructions — First I have to pay attention!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 – $.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book – FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book or $3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book on sale for $1.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

family · Memories · My Thoughts · My Writing · poetry

Day 9 – My Name & Its Origin

January 9, 2026January 9, 2026 Larada Horner-Miller2 Comments

My name, Larada, comes from my maternal grandmother and goes back five generations. Here’s where it came from!

My Grandmother

My namesake, Larada Pearle Hinton Horner, never went by Larada but by Pearle. She did let me know at one point in her life, she went by Laura which haunted me on an RV trip. On May 30, 2005 this poem came as a result of her sharing that little tidbit, but she had been dead for nearly thirty years. This incident happened at a rest stop somewhere in Wyoming. (See poetry shows up in the strangest places in my life!)

Laura

I held the door open

            For her –

            Crippled leg that moved

                        Detached

            A cane –

                        Obviously, a problem

                        For this silver haired citizen.

She said, "Thank You, Laura”"

            With familiarity.

The name my grandmother used

            Instead of Larada.

I use Larada.

I stopped

            Held my breathe!

Laura – thank you, Laura!

She knew me

            Knew my grandmother!

But how?

Was that door a step

            Into another world –

A world shared by seeking souls?

I opened a door

            Stepped into a space

            Between this life & the next

A spiritual zone

            A place God wanted me to

            Connect to my past

            In a way completely foreign to me.

Was this the crystal

            My Mayan friend told me

                        To look for 15 years ago?

Had it been here all along

And I was too busy to hear it?

Spirit world,

            I'm open to you

                        And the message

            The message I need to hear

            The message that will change my life!

(This poem will be included in book #3 of my five-book poetry series, Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, next year!)

My Great Grandmother

Larada Florentine Best McDonald, my grandmother’s grandmother donned our name, but I have no idea where it came from. Legend had it that name went back seven generations, but I just looked through ancestry.com and my genealogy information in Family Tree Maker and no one past this Larada is named. So, I guess that’s a legend. So, did it started with her? What’s its origin?

My Name

I have always loved my name and the commotion it causes. When I was a child at Vacation Bible School in our little country town, the teachers came in from other places. At Awards Night, the leader stood up and announced an award for Orlando Horner. We all looked around, confused and by process of elimination, I knew it was me!

Later in life when I introduced myself, I’ve had numerous people sing to me, “As I walk down the streets of Laredo. . .” That gave me the idea of an easy way to remember my name—think of Laredo, Texas and pronounce it that way but put an A on the end. Obviously, that’s not the correct spelling of my name, but it has helped many people remember how to pronounce it.

One year at a teacher’s workshop, we had to do a drawing of our names. I drew “La” like a musical note, “Ra” like a ray of sun and “Da” as duh! That helped everyone there remember my name.

Finally,

The picture of my great grandmother’s gravestone came to me today as a hint from ancestry.com, so I wanted to share it and the story behind my name! What’s the story behind your name?

Larada's picture - My name — I love having my name sung to me!

My Newest Books

Time Measured Out!: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #2 e-book

ISBN – 9798989688654

$.99 for limited time

Is My Truth Universal?: A Woman’s Poetic Odyssey e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688623

ALWAYS FREE

Was It a Dream?: Navigating Life’s Journey Through Poetry, Book #1 – e-book

ISBN – 979-8989688630

$3.99

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Christmas Memoir e-book

ISBN – 978-0996614498

$3.99

Buy My Audio Books:

This Tumbleweed Landed

Let Me Tell You a Story

Hair on Fire: A Heartwarming & Humorous Memoir Audiobook

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