Wednesday 24 February 2021

Interview with Dave and Lillian Brummet from BrummetMedia

A few years back we interviewed  Award-winning author, Producer and Radio Host Lillian Brummet and today we are back with her and Dave from BrummetMedia to know what are they up to so far and what's in store for us readers 

Q: What are the biggest surprises you’ve encountered as a writer?


D: The surprise was that the work only increases after your book is published. As a self-promoting team, we have to do everything we can to get the book to the attention of the audience we wish to target. Of course, this was different decades ago when you might have a publishing company involved in this, but the world of books has changed. Unless you are a big name you are going to be on your own for most of it and it can be intense. You need to have a well thought out plan and stick to it in order to get noticed. Flexibility is the key – always be ready to adapt to whatever comes your way. It will keep you pliable and ready for anything. 


Q: What do you do when you are not writing?


D: I play drums in a rock band whenever possible. I also teach both drum kit and hand drum lessons. I have an active repair shop in which I build, fix and tune djembe drums (among others) and manufacture a few percussion accessories as well. I enjoy doing the graphic design work for all our marketing and that is a never-ending learning journey in itself, but certainly an enjoyable one.


Q: Who, or what inspired you to pursue a career in writing?


L: The first writer I ever knew was my mother, who dabbled at the craft for a short time. Later, teachers would comment about my writing, truly moved by what I wrote. These were the earliest influences, slowly pointing me in this direction. Some of my poetry was published, then I won some writing awards... later I took some career evaluation tests and writing kept coming up as a career option. Dave's emotional support and strategic skills have been of great value; having that strength, someone to mull over the details with - it is a huge benefit.


Q: How many books/stories have you written?


L: I've only written a couple non-fiction short stories, numerous non-fiction articles, both product and book reviews, and a total of 7 published books (one of which is no longer available). We did have an ebook (Jump Start For Writers), but that no longer exists. Currently, we have a 2-book series on green living (Trash Talk), 2 books of poetry (Towards Understanding; Rhythm & Rhyme) and there's a newly revised book filled with marketing advice for writers (Purple Snowflake Marketing). Our most recent release is a cookbook: From One Small Garden that, as you might derive from the name, focuses on recipes that help people take advantage of garden harvests and reduce food waste.



Q: How many (books) bookshelves do you have in your home?


D: We are still bookies. We have about 7 or 8 bookshelves throughout the house and studio. I will never stop reading real books as it has a much more intimate feel than a screen. A lot of the books I have are technical manuals on computer software, photographic technique books, books on drums and percussion and sound or rhythm therapy.  


Q: What have you learned about while working with your spouse?


L: Verbal communication is a challenge for me and I have to say that has been my biggest learning curve through our 2 decades of working together, and our 30+ years of marriage. It took a while for us to determine which of us had a better knack for this task or that duty, and over time we just slid into our roles and did our best to support each other in any way we could. We learned to give each other space to do what needs to be done and to be gracious when one of us has personal challenges. We have regular, spontaneous meetings and brainstorming sessions. We talk about what needs to be done and determine priorities based on what is realistic to take on that week... and we divide the duties as best we can. 


Q: Describe a typical writing day.


D: Well, when Lillian is responding to interview questions and running the social media end of things, I am working on the back end of things like images, ad creation, copywriting, or editing anything we have written together. We always proof each other’s work; it is amazing what one might miss that fresh eyes can catch. And with the graphic work, I always have a hard-nosed critic with a keen eye just upstairs from me to give an honest second opinion. What looks good to my eye after working on something for hours might be seen as too wordy or the wrong colour scheme. A fresh set of different eyes with a common understanding of the goal is the best feedback I could ask for – and she brings me cookies!


Q: What is your proudest writer moment?


L: Our Trash Talk series is probably the project that I find the most pride in. Through this series, we have influenced people all over the world to live more proactively, consciously saving money and reducing consumption of resources, while helping their own communities. My proudest moment came when the Recycling Council of British Columbia presented us with an award for "outstanding use of various media in ongoing outreach work to reduce waste in our environment" and then we were recognized as Community Heroes by the LiveSmart BC program. Mere words cannot describe how it feels to hear from our former radio listeners, and our readers over the years... their stories of how we influenced them to become proactive and make a difference. 


Q: What business challenges have you faced as a writer?


D: The learning of new software and web design has been a big challenge in my end of things. There is always something to learn in the realm of graphic design but it is a challenge I love to take on as it only increases my knowledge and ability to do all of our own promotional projects for all aspects of our business.

 

Q: What have you learned about while working with your spouse?


D: We do some of our best creative work when we are just discussing stuff together over a cup of coffee during a break. And, we always have a note pad to jot down the ideas that come bursting out because, sure enough, the best ideas are the ones that slip your memory if you don’t.




Bio:

Lillian and her husband Dave are the team behind Brummet Media Group, high-fiving cheerfully as they pass each other on the way from checking off one item or other from their long to-do list. Their business includes Dave’s music studio and percussion accessory products and graphic design work as well as numerous award-winning non-fiction books and popular blogs. Today we help them celebrate their latest book release - From One Small Garden, with over 300 delicious, nutritious recipes!


Thursday 28 January 2021

Gancube - The Next Big Thing

Have you checked out the new GanCube for yourself?If not I can tell you that GanCube is the apple of Rubik's cube industry.Gan, Gancube, or Gans is a puzzle brand created by Ganyuan Jiang  who set the first Chinese 3x3 national speed-solving record (in 2007). He was also the co-founder of the GuoJia cube brand.If talking about puzzle manufactures they are obviously at the top of the chart.They have noa advanced to not only the regular but also the alien shapes as well as making of smart cubes as well, This comes as a huge advancement in the puzzle industry with each cube enhancing the intelligence level.

GANCUBE comes in various shapes and sizes, some of these are listed below : There is a traditional 3X3 cube , these are super light and super easy to turn.Then there is a very interesting pyraminx shaped, quality-wise its super easy to turn as well.The “Central Magnetic unit” of GAN Pyraminx M,is like a new Magnetic Engine;GES+ inside. Tuning much easier;As light as 64g, to make you feel comfortable.Unlike the previous pyraminxes,GAN Pyraminx M has the “Central Magnetic unit”.It brings new handfeels just like the new engine of the pyraminx.It gives you faster speed and lowers starting resistance.

One of my personal favourites is the megaminx , looks very complex but very easy to understand and turn quickly.There is a 2X2 Cube, this is usually for starters who are still learning the tricks, its the easiest to turn and playThen there is a 4X4 Cube, on which you can learn a lot of tricks and speed up your game, looks interesting can help you play quickly as well.It also has the cube station app.Cube Station supports smart cubes, normal cubes, virtual cubes and devices like GAN Robot, Bluetooth timer and so on. It's the platform for cubers worldwide to battle online, train to improve and learn through AI, helping every player to enjoy the pleasure of speedcubing.

Gancube is the world leader of speedcubing and no doubt the choice of the world's best cube players.GANCUBE leads the reformation of speed cube technology with dozens of national patents and certifications.GANCUBE is not only easy but they also provide support if you want to learn the tips and tricks of speedcubing.You can check out thr GanCube Instructions yourself and master the speedcubing.

Trust me this is the most interesting and game for the future with speed and smart devices. If you want to buy any of their products you can directly go to the website and can Register or login to it, they recommend you to create an account by entering your E-mail address and the account password before placing an order. If you are a returning customer, you can obviously login directly like any other website.They now accept PayPal, Western Union Credit Card and Alipay as their payment methods.The processing needs 1-5 working days. As soon as your package is shipped, you will receive an email from no-reply@gancube.com. The email will provide you with the order details, the tracking number and the tracking way. Also you can login your account to query.