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I wrote a few articles emphasizing a fact some still debate: Google does have semantic functionality although they deny their interest in semantic search. Particularly the heads of the so called semantic search engines debate this, happily wearing the hat of an ignorant “we are alone” – translated “we are the only ones able to create a semantic search engine.” What many still don’t understand – and this is probably my fault for not being eloquent enough – is that I never called Google a “semantic search engine.” What I said is that, among other algorithms, Google does employ semantic technology. To those search engine gurus of you who emailed us, I hope this is clear now. And I am addressing this article especially to you, maybe this time you stop and listen.

I offered in these pages enough free advice to help you build an empire. I know for a fact you took this advice, but like most things “borrowed” ideas detached from the origin often lose strength in the translation. A simple given credit, if you think about it, would have produced even more idea refinements and new ideas.

No need to mention, I presume, the amount of work and passion my partner Phil Butler invested in supporting you guys. Has he ever received at least for the sake of the courtesy a “thank you” note? The things you take for granted are often the easiest things to lose. Losing the respect of your greatest supporters does cost – in the long term. Too bad you are too blinded by your own reflections to see what the world around you actually has to offer. It seems to me that you, like Narcissus once, are followed by the curse of the nymphs: “So may he himself love, and not gain the thing he loves.”

Yes, I am disappointed: your lack of courtesy and respect is what keeps you from becoming sovereigns. You want to beat Google and yet you fail understanding a basic principle of leadership…

You cannot become a leader in your industry if you don’t have what it takes.

What kind of a leader are you going to be - the kind who thinks he is the best?
Or will you be one of the very few greats
Who attributes success to the rest? (The Image of Leadership - John Schoolland)

Enough now, for I fear I waste my time again. Goethe once said: “If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.” Yet I think you are not able to accept my help. You “borrow” it instead.

Once again, I have to prove a point, and once again I have to lead the horse to the water: “Google added sophisticated voice recognition technology to the company’s search software for the Apple iPhone.” You tell me what is more semantic than natural language. I quote more from the article published on “The New Your Times” online: users

“can place the phone to their ear and ask virtually any question, like “Where’s the nearest Starbucks?” or “How tall is Mount Everest?” The sound is converted to a digital file and sent to Google’s servers, which try to determine the words spoken and pass them along to the Google search engine.”

If you cannot understand what this means, you probably should re-evaluate your own concept of “semantics.”

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When you look at the cover of Dream or Destiny, you see my name as the author. What you don’t see are the names of all the other people who made this book possible.

I can’t possibly mention every person who contributed to the publication of Dream or Destiny, but I can demonstrate how many people have been part of the process.

If I go all the way back to the beginning, I recognize the talent and desire to write came from God. My late parents raised me to believe in myself and to strive for accomplishment. Both the encouragement and competition of my siblings have motivated me. The constant support and faith of my husband Jack gives me courage and confidence.

I might never have become a published author without the boost provided by Mrs. Newsom, my English teacher at Dilley High School. She assigned us to write a short story, then read my story to every English class in our small school, each time repeating complimentary words about the story.

With these early influences, I always knew I wanted to write. However, I didn’t believe I could make a living as a writer so writing remained a dream for “someday”—perhaps when I retired. It took a wake-up call in the form of a severe stroke for me to decide “someday” was now. I vowed to start pursuing my dream of writing as soon as I recovered enough from the stroke.

In the meantime, my college friend, Grace Anne Schaefer, started writing. When she finished a 100,000 word novel, I thought, “If she can do it, so can I.”

However, I didn’t know anything about writing for publication. Although several of my articles had been published in an industry trade journal during my years as an interior landscaper, writing a business article for a trade journal and writing a novel were quite different.

I joined the Romance Writers of America (RWA). I parted ways with RWA years ago because of their negative attitude and policies toward small press and electronic publishers, but I give the organization great credit for its excellent training for writers. The programs and workshops of the local chapter, the articles in the organization’s publications, and classes at regional and national conferences gave me a solid foundation in creative writing. I also learned a lot in classes, including an online class taught by novelist and writing teacher Lary Crews and a local offline class taught by mystery writer Jay Brandon. Writing magazines and books contributed to my education as a writer.

All that background was necessary before I could write a publishable novel. I started improving dramatically when three other writers and I formed a critique group. Angela Hoover, Jan Kilby, Polly Price, and I meet weekly in my home. We each brought a chapter to share, and we learned as much from reading and critiquing each other’s work as from the critiques we received on our own. I finished Stroke of Luck and Dream or Destiny during the time our critique group met regularly.

The publication of Stroke of Luck involved a number of individuals, and I’m grateful to each of them. But this blog book tour is for Dream or Destiny.

I had an agent for a couple of years, but all I got from that experience was a stack of rejection letters. I put the manuscript away for a time and temporarily gave up the idea of getting this book published. When I decided to give it another try, I spent time with my friends Herb and Billie Houston (who write as Barri Bryan) after a writers conference. During the day, I holed up in the hotel room and edited the manuscript, and at night we experienced Las Vegas. Their encouragement brought me a step closer to publication.

Then two published author friends, Diana Lesire Brandmeyer and Anita Gunnufson (aka Anita Lynn), read the manuscript and gave me valuable feedback. After I incorporated many of their suggestions, I submitted Dream or Destiny to a publisher, who offered me a publishing contract. However, before the book went into the production, the publisher made changes to its business model that I wasn’t comfortable with, so I asked to be released from the contract.

After another long period of ignoring the story, I submitted it to GASLight Publishing, LLC, a small press started by my friend Grace Anne and her husband Ken Schaefer. Several obstacles delayed the publication of the book, but in the meantime, I posted on my blog asking for readers. Helen Ginger, Tammi Reynolds, Misti Sandefur, and Mihaela Lica, my host today here at eWritings, responded. Their suggestions made the story much better.

Three different editors/proofreaders reviewed the book during the production cycle. Artist Aundrea Hernandez designed a fabulous cover. The publisher handled critical details such as assigning the ISBN as well as arranging for printing.

Their names may not appear on the cover, but Dream or Destiny would not have been published without the help of each of these individuals. They made the book much stronger—any weaknesses or errors are mine.

I thank everyone who contributed to the publication of Dream or Destiny, and I thank everyone who reads, reviews, and recommends the book!

Leave your thoughts and questions in a comment. I’ll be back during the day to respond.

Lillie Ammann blogs at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye and freelances as a writer and editor.
She is on a blog book tour for her romantic mystery novel Dream or Destiny.

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I am very pleased to host today Lillie Ammann’s answers to a question all authors have to answer sooner or later: “Where did that idea come from?”

In Lillie’s case, the question refers to her latest novel: Dream or Destiny.

I had the pleasure to read and review her novel while it was still under the scrutiny of an editor.

I don’t know what changed, if something, but as it was a few months ago… the novel had it all: excitement, adventure, good prose - in short: an excellent read, which I highly recommend.

Without further delay, here’s what Lillie would answer when you ask: Where did that idea come from?

People wonder where writers get their ideas. “Where did that idea come from?” they ask. Often the question reflects more than simple curiosity. Folks would like to come up creative ideas of their own—for their blog, their job, or their business … or just to impress their friends.

In Dream or Destiny, my newly released romantic mystery novel, Marilee Anderson’s dream of a murder comes true. I’m often asked, “Where did that idea come from?” Although it’s been far more than ten years, I recall exactly where I got the idea. My husband and I watched a documentary on TV about a woman who had psychic dreams about murders. She had used her dreams on many occasions to help law enforcement solve crimes, including a cold murder case in which the body had never been found. Based on her dream, the woman led officers to a shallow grave in an isolated area high on a mountain. The body and crime scene provided enough evidence to convict the killer. The subject of psychic dreams fascinated me, and I wondered what would happen if someone dreamed of the actual murder. That idea formed the premise of Dream or Destiny.

However, another element of the story appeared for no apparent reason. As I wrote the book, a theme of domestic violence emerged. Through the years, my awareness of domestic violence has grown. There was no specific trigger to include this theme in the story; it was a natural evolution of my interest in the subject.

If you would like to come up with great ideas of your own, follow these seven tips:

• Develop a broad range of interests. Try a new hobby, nurture an interest in geography or geology, or investigate a business or career. More topics of interest mean more sources of ideas.
• Continue to learn. Read, take classes, explore online. As you are introduced to new ideas and new information, you’re more likely to come up with new ideas of your own.
• Observe the world around you. Watch people, news, and nature. As you pay attention to things you’ve never noticed before, you’ll generate ideas you’ve never had before.
• Ask “What if …?” When I had a stroke, I had to depend on my husband to care for me. I wondered “What if this happened to someone who didn’t have a partner willing and able to provide care?” A possible answer to that question became my first novel, Stroke of Luck.
• Sleep on it. Most of us have experienced waking up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea. Sometimes it’s still brilliant in the morning; sometimes it’s not. But thinking about the problem (whether it’s an issue at work, a plot for a novel, or the topic of a blog post) before bedtime activates your subconscious mind to try to find a solution. Keep a notepad by your bed to jot down those middle-of-the-night ideas.
• Give yourself time to be creative. Don’t expect to be creative on demand. Your next great idea may come when you least expect it—perhaps in the shower days after you first thought about writing a story or solving a problem.
• Save ideas even when you don’t immediately see a way to use them. My next novel will be based on an idea I had years ago. I wasn’t ready to develop the idea at the time, but I am now. You can record ideas in a journal (either on paper or on your computer). Or you can keep an idea box or file where you store handwritten or typed notes, newspaper clippings, intriguing photos—anything at all that you may want to use later. We tend to think we’ll remember the ideas that seem so brilliant when we get them, but unless we make a conscious effort to retain them, they tend to disappear out of our memory. Never let an idea slip away—save it for a time when you can fully develop it. At the very least, you’ll feel more confident if you have a file or journal filled with ideas.

Where do you get your ideas? How do you remember or save them? I’ll be back during the day to respond to comments or answer questions.

I’m visiting eWritings as part of my three-week blog book tour for Dream or Destiny. eWritings is a special stop for me because Mig was one of my first readers for the novel. You can read reviews, including a quote from Mig, or a free excerpt as well as a tour schedule on my Web site. I’ll be back here on Friday, November 7, talking about Getting Published with a Little Help from My Friends.

Lillie Ammann is a freelance writer and editor specializing in working with self-publishing authors. Dream or Destiny is her second novel.

Lillie, who blogs at A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye, lives in San Antonio, Texas with her husband Jack.

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