Keyword Tutorial #3: Keyword Placement- Optimizing a Web Page

This short video serves up the meat of web page optimization. Use it to help you plan where keywords go in each web page of your site. Before watching, you will probably want to watch the first video in the series: Keyword Tutorial #1: Find the best Keywords, which will help you choose the best keywords for your site. If you want more gentle hand-holding, you buy the incredibly affordable new ebook: The Keyword Tutorial, which gives you everything you need in 28 pages, to plan and prepare content for your web site so that searchers will actually find you in Google!

Keyword Tutorial #2: How to Use Blogger for Back Links

I am passionate about teaching this technique to my clients. Before watching this video you will want to watch the previous video: Keyword Tutorial #1: Find the Best Keywords, so that you will know which keywords are best. Then you can use those keywords in your web site, and on your blog in a way that can beautifully enhance your ranking. This video walks you through the steps. If you want more in-depth help, you can buy The Keyword Tutorial, a new ebook that gives you everything you need to prepare content for your web site, to improve your web ranking!

Keyword Tutorial #1: Find the best Keywords

Greetings! This is the beginning of a series of free keyword video tutorials that are designed to help you understand how to prepare content for your web designer, so that your site can be found on Google. All the writers in readsouthwest.com have web sites of their own, so I'm hoping this information will be helpful for them. The point is this: if you have a niche that is small enough, and competition that is clueless enough, you don't have to do much to make sure searchers can find your site. So, as a writer, you will want to think hard about your best keywords. This video takes you by the hand. Let me help you for free!

The Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer

This novel is amazing. I finished it two nights ago and upon closing the book felt bereft of a good friend. Hannah is a descendant of Russian Jews and the story of her development is woven masterfully against the stories of her ancestors, creating a tapestry of history, love, heartbreak and hope.

In the 70's I lived in Cambridge, Mass for 7 years. Reliving the feeling tone of that time by witnessing Hannah's Cambridge lifestyle was a true pleasure. Whether you know Cambridge or not, and whether you are a baby boomer or not, you may appreciate the changes Hannah goes through as she explores who she is in the face of a sudden, confusing rejection by her mother. Hannah's inquiry into the mysteries of her mother's past help her grow in understanding and humanness. It helped me too!

I feel extremely lucky to have met Katie Singer and to be promoting her books on readsouthwest.com.

Anasazi Gold, a Philo Hodgdon Adventure by John P. Manz

John Manz is a new member of readsouthwest.com. We're very happy to have him here. This first novel has all the rambuctious, creative energy you might expect from a first-time male author who is deeply interested in Anasazi and Hopi culture, as well as martial arts and the rollicking standby's of sex and violence. Protagonist Philo Hodgdon takes us on a roller coaster of experience from life-changing spiritual visitations to the greed for gold and power. Buckle up before read this book and enjoy the ride!

From Calcutta with Love -The World War II Letters of Richard and Reva Beard

Author Elaine Pinkerton is a founding member of readsouthwest.com. She has written some wonderful books and this one is particularly touching. Her father was an Army psychologist in the China-Burma-India theater of World War II. Hundreds of letters between Richard and his wife Reva were preserved and Elaine carefully chose the best of these letters. The love between these two people is deep and beautifully expressed, as are poignant experiences on both sides. There is humour as well. I just opened to Richard's story of going up in a bomber plane with some buddies, apparently as an escape from boredom, and one of the engines dies! Richard has no idea how to even put a parachute on but he makes a valiant effort, only to discover that the engine comes back on and the pilot is playing a joke!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in expanding their knowledge of World War II, especially in the almost forgotten China-Burma-India theater. On a purely personal side, the love letters are absolutely inspiring. Please consider reading From Calcutta with Love -The World War II Letters of Richard and Reva Beard

An Amazing Book on World War II

My latest craze is a book by Everett Rogers and readsouthwest member Nancy Bartlit, called Silent Voices of World War II, When Sons of the Land of Enchantment met Sons of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Apparently, this is the first single book that examines the four major avenues of involvement by New Mexicans in World War II: the Manhattan Project, Navajo Code Talkers, Japanese Internment Camps and the Bataan Death March. It is quite amazing to be reading some of the first hand accounts of the Death March, for example, from the mouths of New Mexicans. And the experience of the Navajo Code Talkers is astonishing. Imagine the transition that many of them had --from a BIA boarding school where the "dine" language was forbidden (often with terrible punishments) to being recruited into the military to take advantage of the language. These New Mexicans were an incredible help to our country. Their stories are inspiring, humbling, and sometimes really funny.

I have known for a long time that I was uninformed about World War II, and this book is the perfect way for me to begin to fill in some of the gaping holes in my knowledge. It's absolutely fascinating!

I highly recommend that you explore this book and learn more about the Navajo Code Talker in World War II, the History of the Bataan Death March, the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima, and the Relocation of Japanese Americans.

Keep on Reading!
-Hope Kiah

Avant-garde artist/author Sumner Carnahan!

readsouthwest is such a treat for me, because I am exposed to amazing writers whose work I would probably not find otherwise. Melody Sumner Carnahan is one of those writers! Right now I'm falling in love with one inch equals 25 miles, a wonderful collection of stories. Last night I read Full, a story that puts you in the head of a guy whose mind -and car- are racing away from the job where he just got fired. Each of Melody's stories is unique, and this one starts in the second person, but moves into first person as you get deeper into the character's head and as he gets more agitated. It's great!

I tend to work late and go to bed tired, so a few of Sumner Carnahan's stories are perfect. I'm looking forward to tonight!

Visit this Avant-garde artist/author Sumner Carnahan on readsouthwest!

til next time,
Hope

The Inspiration for readsouthwest.com

In 1996 I heard that Robin Williams (the writer, not the actor) was teaching Typography at the Santa Fe Community College. I was studying to become a web designer at the time and I immediately registered for her class. (As I write this, Robin is working on her 55th computer book. She is a renowned Macintosh and design expert.) Robin changed my life with her beautiful and clean sense of design and her remarkable teaching style. As brilliant as she is she never made any of us newbies feel stupid. I have since become a teacher myself and constantly hold her up as my model.

Robin suggested to me in 1998 that I design a site for local writers, which I did, calling it readsouthwest.com. Readers have been finding books and connecting with writers here ever since. I am thrilled to facilitate this connection, like an Online bridge between writers and readers, enriching the lives of both! Thank you, Robin for putting me in this direction. Someday I'll write something of my own!

One of the fascinating things about Robin is her latest obsession: the William Shakespeare Authorship Controversy. For much of her adult life Robin has been exploring the possibility that the works of William Shakespeare can be attributed to a woman by the name of Mary Sidney. It has been a huge pleasure to attend Robin's presentations and read her new book, Sweet Swan of Avon, Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? Even if you're not a Shakespeare addict I highly recommend that you read it. The purpose of the book is not to prove that Mary Sidney is the true author, but rather to present enough compelling evidence to encourage people to explore the idea further. Still, Robin presents so much overwhelming evidence that it's hard to finish the book without feeling smug, like you're in on something amazing!

Please explore the work Robin has done on the William Shakespeare Authorship Controversy, by buying and reading this book! Pass it along, and if you have any comments about it, please post them to the blog!