Sunday Summary & #ROW80

1. The Writing: My Margie Lawson Writer’s Academy class ended this week. I still have a few assignments to do that I haven’t been able to get my head around or just ran out of time. I have all the lessons and got some great feedback on some WIP related assignments which will definitely help with revisions/edits of one story. I think I better bake up some brownies and crack open that bottle of chocolate wine for the muse… Hope she’ll share
2. Have your characters ever surprised you? Check out Joely Sue Burkhart’s guest post about some of the surprises her characters hit her with during the writing of Yours to Take. Psst…there’s a giveaway.
3. SynTAROTis posed an interesting question this week: Can a skeptic use Tarot cards for introspection? Of course, the site’s tagline is ‘the skeptic’s tarot’ so obviously she does. What I liked about the post was I could see applying the process to writing.
4. The Reading: I just finished The Last Good Man by Kathleen Eagle. Fabulous. Savannah was completely relatable in her struggle to heal from depression to hope and finding her HEA. This story touched a cord with me. I’ve lost a grandmother and an aunt to breast cancer but, thankfully, I also have three aunts and a cousin who’ve beaten the beast.
5. Roni Loren had a fascinating post about the hard truths readers are facing in today’s new world of books. As writers, there are more options for getting our work out there to readers. Kait Nolan mentioned last year, eBooks are the new pulp fiction (not the movie, LOL) in which authors are — or should be — learning on the job. Then Maria Zannini posted about the free book paradox. As readers, that means our job of selecting books is tougher. How do you select what you read?
6. The Blogging: Ha! Built the queue back up this week. Whew! What a relief. That counts as writing, right? I think I hit my comment goal but the three-day weekend and more mice babies born Friday threw my tracking for a loop. Can’t imagine why :snicker:
7. The Social Media: I ‘think’ I did pretty well here. I had a Twitter conversation with @neostateofmind (aka Angela Brown) and some fun with Jenny Hansen on Facebook. And I even updated Goodreads, LOL.
8. The Health: Dog walking pretty much sucked this week. I need to get new shoes that’s all there is to it. I can’t deal with the blisters on top of the blisters on top of the blisters. Sugar and caffeine reduction is on track and I’m feeling really good about my progress. The water intake went well 5 of the last 7 days though I failed to reach my 8 glasses per day goal. As we’re in the triple digits, and not likely to dip below that for the next 3 to 4 months, I really need to get a handle on this.
9. Once again the fabulous August McLaughlin covered healthy eating with her 5 Steps Toward Healthy Sweets Success post. She even shared a delicious flourless cake recipe!
10. Maria Zannini also had an excellent post on pet first aid. I have a pretty well stocked general first aid cabinet in my house due to the wee beasties, which carries over nicely to the fur babies, thanks to my mum being a nurse and teaching its importance at an early age. Are you ready for an emergency?
11. To support the awesomeness that is ROW80 you can go HERE

Versatile Blogger Award & MayNoWriMo 2011 Update

The Award

Earlier this week Erin Brambilla nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. Wow. Thank you Erin!

Here are the rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:
1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
2. Share seven random facts about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 5 new-found blogging buddies.
4. Contact the winners to congratulate them.

7 random facts about me :taps finger against chin: hmm…

1. Your shoe size really does increase with each pregnancy. Sigh. I went from a petite 6 to an 8.
2. I recycle everything. A very frustrating thing in Vegas where the recycling truck only comes once every two weeks yet we have twice a week garbage pick-up.
3. I have my Aunt Gina’s original recipe for Haggis. The only problem is I don’t have 200-300 people to feed it to if I make it!
4. I was the first child, on both sides of my family, to be born in the States.
5. I can’t watch TV without something to do in my hands. Cross-stitching usually but I’d like to get back into knitting.
6. Living in Vegas is the furthermost I’ve ever lived from an ocean.
7. I love to bake. Can someone wave the magic no calories wand so I can actually enjoy what I bake? Please. Pie trumps cake any day of the week! (And yes, Erin, I think a pie post on National Pie Day is in order.)

My nominations for The Versatile Blogger Award go to…

• Book-Wrym-Knits — I first met Nicole through our mutual friend Joely Sue Burkhart. Knitter extraordinaire, Nicole makes me wish I wore socks! She’s @ca_bookwyrm on Twitter.
• DB Smyth — Deborah offers up thought-provoking blog posts. She even has a cool “I am a writer” button for anyone who needs the extra kick in the pants. She’s @DB_Smyth on Twitter.
• Tiffany A White — Tiffany is a friendly member of Kristen Lamb’s #MyWANA Twibe.  If you’re ever in question about what to watch be sure to check out her Tele-Tuesday posts, she’s got y’all covered. You can find her on Twitter as @Tiffany_A_White.
• Stazia Charles — I met Stazia through Twitter (@StaziaCharles), she’s fun and friendly and I’ve recently started reading her blog.
• SynTAROTis — I met Martie through Twitter (@SynTAROTis) and love the spreads and insight.

The Update

I joined Joely Sue Burkhart’s writing challenge in the hopes of finishing the first pass of revisions on my WiP.

Forth weekly update…not bad but not as good as I’d hoped. I knew going in this section needed the most work and it’s slow going. I’m not as confident as I was last week that I’ll get this revision pass done before the wee beasties are out of school for the summer. I am, however, pushing onward.

To make it accountable, I said:

• Act One (16K) the first week
• Act Two, part one (16K) the second week
• Act Two, part two (16K) the third week
• Act Three (16K) the forth week

How did working toward your goals go this week?