We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Program

My work schedule is random enough that grabbing dedicated writing time is more miss than hit. I’m sure it will even out eventually. What that adds up to for you is that I haven’t finalized the Meet the Cards post for today.

Instead, here are some posts which rocked my world recently.

Jenny Hansen is a must read for me and posts like Can One Person Make a Difference? is one reason why. Recently, Jenny had Lisa Hall Wilson over with this post on Fun Facebook Tricks.

Maria Zannini is another must read for me, she keeps things real with posts like Yellow Jacket Attack, and she’ll also be a panelist in this weekend’s Coyote Con — Writing Sex Scenes.

On Maria’s Back to Basics blog I found this great recipe for Healthy Homemade Dog Cookies — Beastie Girl approved. Maria also had this amazing tip on Recycling Pour Tops. Be sure to like The Frugal Way on Facebook for great deals. Maria does her research!

Natalie Hartford is a guaranteed laugh most days of the week like this post, on a product we’ve all likely seen advertized, Worlds Collide: Pajamas and Jeans. Every Friday, however, this amazingly dedicated woman puts a personal face on the victims of drunk driving. Check out this great product doing double duty as support for a worthy cause — Recovery Tags.

Brinda Berry has a regular feature, Social Media Savvy with Sanity, on Gloria Richard’s blog and this week was more on Facebook — This is a Test. This Is Only a Facebook Test.

As part of Coyote Con, this Sunday is my Tarot in Writing panel with the amazing Diana Castle, who you’ve seen me mention here on the blog under her pen name of Jenna Reynolds. The panel starts at 11 AM EASTERN time (AKA New York time). Diane and I hope to see you there

Awards, Oh My

The fabulous Brinda Berry awarded me not one but two awards. Be sure to check out her site and blog where she blogs under the tag: YA Fiction, hang on for a wild ride. If you’re looking for a summer read be sure to check out The Waiting Booth (Whispering Woods) followed by Whisper of Memory (Whispering Woods). I don’t think you’ll regret stepping into Mia’s world.

Brinda, thank you for the awards!

The Sunshine Award

Is You Are My Sunshine playing in your head? Or is that just me?

• Favorite color: I don’t really have a favorite but I do gravitate toward greens for the house and corals for myself.
• Favorite animal: I’m an animal lover in general. In the wild, sea otters, they are so playful. For pets, definitely dogs over cats.
• Favorite number: I’ve got a thing for even numbers but can’t say I have a favorite.
• Favorite drink: As much as I love my coffee, TEA.
• Facebook/Twitter Locations: Facebook / Twitter
• Favorite passion: Reading. I’ll read almost anything and love escaping into other worlds.
• Giving or Receiving: Giving, definitely.
• Favorite pattern: I have to agree with Brinda on this answer…Toile. There’s just something elegant and romantic about it to me.
• Favorite day of the week: Sunday.
• Favorite flower: Tiger Lily. It was my grandmother’s favorite. According to her it meant ‘wealth and pride’ and she always said we were family wealthy and country proud. I don’t know if she was right but it struck a cord that remains today.

Fabulous Blog Ribbon

Five fabulous writing moments:

1. Having the amazing Joely Sue Burkhart take me under her wing and meet me D&E every morning.
2. The spark of a new idea.
3. When it all comes together, like a jigsaw puzzle not missing any pieces.
4. When the right word comes without help from the Thesaurus.
5. Writing “the end” on a first draft.

Five things I love about writing…

1. Brainstorming a new idea.
2. Characters who won’t shut up.
3. Getting in the zone and not being able to stop.
4. The fabulous writers I’ve meet online!
5. Learning something new with each draft.

Five things I hate about writing…

1. Characters who won’t shut up.
2. Revisions.
3. Not finding that missing piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
4. Edits.
5. Oh, and more edits.

I’m going to take a page out of Brinda’s book and award both the Sunshine Award and the Fabulous Blog Ribbon to five writers. And because she says it so wonderfully…

Why? Because these writers certainly spread sunshine with their words. Their blogs are wonderful, and they are Fabulous Blog Ribbon worthy. They are welcome to indulge us with answers to the questions above if they like. Please go visit these bloggers and see why they are so special!

Natalie Hartford
Melanie Macek
Nadja Notariani
August McLaughin
Claire Hennessy

Sunday Summary & #ROW80

1. Did you remember to spring forward?
2. A link in Amy Shojai’s Monday Mention post lead me to this Google Authorship post. Hello! It’s easy to implement and already my search engine traffic has doubled, if not tripled. Yes, my spam has also gone up, but not horribly, and WordPress does a fantastic job of catching it. Additionally, my images are coming up as searchable. I don’t know about you but I’m always looking for images…win.
3. The writing: okay, so no way this side of hell is my SF piece gonna be done for submission on Thursday. I spent a bit of time going back and forth. Should I keep pushing through? Should I return to the fantasy piece I was so close to finishing the first draft on? In the end, I’ve decided to keep pushing through with the SF piece. I need to get through it, even if it never reaches publish ready, for the lessons learned aspect. Ideally, I’d like to work on the fantasy piece during my D&E writing time (new wordage) and the SF piece in the afternoon (revisions/edits).
4. Ever have trouble with your sex scenes? Jenny Hansen wrote a fabulous post: Using the 12 Stages of Physical Intimacy to Build Tension. Whew, did it just get hot in here?
5. The blogging: I continue to work toward having two weeks scheduled (not counting these Sunday Summary posts) and managed to get quite a few posts drafted earlier in the week. So I’m feeling like this is a win though most of those drafts aren’t ready to schedule yet. Having taken the pressure of the sub deadline off the table I’ve managed to get around to commenting more. Yay.
6. Earlier this week Maria Zannini posted: Never Run Out of Blog Topics. Talk about timing!
7. The social media: thanks to Jenny Hansen’s More Cowbell Tribe on Triberr I’ve been meeting my retweet goal. Since signing up for StumbleUpon and Google + I’ve actually been spreading the love around. I even managed a bit of a conversation with @NatalieHartford on Twitter. Gasp, I know.
8. Speaking of social media, did you know that you will be switched to Facebook’s Timeline by the end of the month? If you haven’t played with it yet, you may want to. Perhaps 6 Reasons Authors Should Love Timeline from Marcy Kennedy and Lisa Hall-Wilson will help. I hate that they are forcing the change but I kinda like the look of it. We’ll see.
9. But wait! There’s more…YouTube. Brinda Berry talked about being Savvy with Sanity on Gloria Richard’s blog. Do you utilize YouTube?
10. The health: Water. Check. Sugar reduction. Check. Dog walks… half a check? Wind has been really bad again this week. 70+ wind gusts one day which trapped me inside completely! I was able to get out for a walk once plus a game of fetch (great for the dog but didn’t do much for me, LOL) another day. Still working on this. I may have to resort to running up and down the stairs for a half hour (great for me but wouldn’t do much for the dog).
11. To support the awesomeness that is ROW80 go HERE