www.inkthinkerblog.com — A picture might be worth a million bucks, but you shouldn’t have to pay that much for it. I’m constantly looking for free and inexpensive images to use in my own stuff and for my clients’ projects. Here are some great resources I turn to time and time again:

U.S. Government Graphics and Photos Free, per Section 105 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Read all disclaimers before use.

morgueFile Free.

stock.xchange Free with some inexpensive purchase options.

Turbo Photo Under $20/pic.

Big Stock Photo Under $10/pic.

iStockphoto Under $5/pic.

dreamstime Under $5/pic.

Shutterstock Join for one month for $159 and download up to 25 images per day. You can look without registering.

Punchstock More than 100,000 images for $19-$49 in the Valueline section, plus more than 2 million pricier pics

Fotosearch Kind of expensive, but great selection.

Picturequest Cheaper but pricey.

Image Source Also cheaper, but also pricey.

Jupiter Images Price depends on use, and you have to log in to get pricing.

Corbis Usage based and requires an account to see prices.

images.com Usage based, must log in.

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — The first week back after a vacation is always weird. I have this enormous to-do list and I feel like I’ve barely made a dent. However, I have tackled my goal of cleaning up my bookmarks and adding the blogs I’ve found recently to my list of recommended reading over in the sidebar (which is the new part), and I alphabetized that sucker (which is the improved part).

If you have a blog you want me to take a look at, please e-mail me and I’ll read through it. If it strikes my fancy, I’ll add it to the list.

And if you like ::inkthinker::, please add me to your list of recommended links. I want to become a link pimp!

Kristen

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — On my way up from Virginia to New Jersey on Friday, only one day after my walk through the Food Lion parking lot (which, to my surprise, garnered acclaim from the locals), I was hit on by an attractive man in a red car while traveling at approximately 75 miles per hour.

He looked a little dangerous, which, of course, would have been appealing if I were an angst-filled 16-year-old. As I passed him in the left lane, he started honking at me and trying to catch up. I slowed immediately, afraid that my gas tank was open or I had a flat tire and didn’t know it. When he pulled up beside me and began keeping pace with me, I was surprised to see that he wasn’t gesturing frantically at all.

He smiled and waved.

I smiled politely in return, raising my eyebrows.

He held up a cell phone and gestured for me to give him my number.

I shook my head.

He made a “Why not?” shrug, mouthing the words.

I held up my left hand and pointed to my wedding ring.

Oops. He made a “Sorry!” face and expression.

I put on speed and pulled away. Where do these people come from?

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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King

www.inkthinkerblog.com — I’m sitting on my iron bed in the room where I had my first kiss, wrote the first draft of my first novel, and carved my first (and last!) set of initials into a piece of furniture.

Visiting my mom’s house is very strange. The big strange thing is that it’s my mom’s house, not “home” or “my parents’ house.” Despite the fact that I’m in my old room and the acrylic paintings I added to the decor in the middle of the night during one of my then-undiagnosed manic phases are still there, it doesn’t feel familiar.

The first night here, I stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling for hours before finally falling asleep as day broke and the crickets and cicadas stopped screaming outside. There is no AC here, so closing the windows to block out the sound is simply not an option. I spent the first 18 years of my life in this house, yet these sounds seem so foreign to me.

The darkness here is absolute, unbroken by streetlights and intensified by pin pricks of light on black sky.
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www.kristenkingfreelancing.com
Finalist in 2006 Writer’s Digest Best Writer’s Website Contest

Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King