Tag Archives: Blog

March 13, 2013

Two Blogger Awards

By Eva Rieder

It’s taken me far too long to get around to this, but—today is the day! Great news: Catrina Barton has kindly nominated me for two blogger awards, the Versatile Blogger and the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. Catrina writes YA paranormal novels, and she runs a blog following the writing process and the adventures of her recent book release, Dangerous Temptations. I am, of course, completely flattered that Catrina bestowed me with this honor, especially considering my less-frequent posting makes this feel far too generous.

versatileblogger111So, thank you, Catrina!

The Versatile Blogger Award has been floating around for a while now, and the nomination requirements are:

          • Display the award logo on your blog.
          • Link back to the person who nominated you.
          • State 7 things about yourself.
          • Nominate other bloggers for this award and link to them.
          • Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.badge-veryinspiringbloggeraward

Conveniently, the Very Inspiring Blogger Award has the same rules, so I’ll be doing this once for both awards.

7 Things About Me:
  1. I have a group of really amazing friends. In addition, in the last couple months, I’ve had a few old friends come out of the woodwork, giving me the feeling of being surrounded by awesome, loving people. Add this to my blogger and reader friends and I’m sitting here wrapped in a mental hug. You all rock!
  2. I’m a crazy proud auntie, which I’ve said before and I’ll say about a gazillion times. (In fact, I might have been so proud that I was tempted to circulate her recent report card on Facebook, but I held it together. Swear.)
  3. I love to bake, but am so-so on the cooking. (We can’t just eat cookies and banana bread all day? Really?)
  4. While I do despise traffic, I actually love to drive—call it prep/decompression time for work, or just time-to-ruminate-with-loud-music, but I’ve liked it since my 16-hour roundtrip travels to get home my freshman year in college. Which leads to…
  5. I love to travel and want to do it more. No, more. NO, even more than that! I try to take a trip every year, but this hasn’t worked out the last couple. Fortunately, this summer I’m heading to Italy and Croatia! I can’t wait!
  6. I am really into countdowns. (Like to my summer trip, for example.)
  7. There’s a brown thumb, and then there’s what I have, which is like the thumb of death. I have two plants that have suffered carried along with me for a while—Seymour, a 13-year-old Ficus Monique, and a 4-year-old Cactus aptly called The Cactus. Seymour has some extraordinary branches and a few (read: twenty-ish) bright green leaves. This leads me to believe that Seymour is doing fine, but friends like to tell me otherwise. I just looked up a picture of a Ficus Monique, and I’m going to continue believing Seymour is the minimalist relative of that plant. Meanwhile, the cactus has some brown leaves. (What?!) But you know, I figure I’m too busy tending to my attention-hungry and adorable cats, so…uh…yeah.

Okay, that wraps up seven facts about me. Now on to nominations, where I’ll be bending the rules a bit.

The award requirements suggest nominations for 15 blogs. Instead, I’d like to focus on just a few. Quality over quantity, here, so…the following are three great bloggers I follow:

  • Jessica Vealitzek at TrueSTORIES — Jessica’s blog always makes my list, because she is constantly inspiring, thoughtful, and entertaining. I also enjoy the reality of her posts, since I’m generally more “light and fluffy” and can use a good dose of reality here and there. (Say, Jessica, think you might want to do a post on how to properly care for plants?)
  • MariNaomi at MariNaomi – Comics about real life and stuff — I won’t lie; Mari happens to be a friend of mine who’s been running various comics around the web for years, and after much prodding/nagging/cajoling from her little pal (that would be me), she finally upped and started a WordPress blog. This means I can now spread the word of her awesomeness more easily by sharing her blog with you! Mari is the author of Kiss and Tell, a graphic novel that I immensely enjoyed, and I’ve been following her since I read it.
  • Katherine Checkley at The Intrinsic Writer — Katherine has all sorts of clever thoughts and posts on the writing process, and her blog is one I not only read as often as I can, but one that I reference frequently.

And that’s it—yes, only three. I’m handing five nominations each to these three spectacular people (technically ten, since there are two awards). I read a lot of wonderful blogs, but these three are the ones that I read faithfully and the ones I think you should check out, too.

However, I still think giving commendations to other blogs is extremely important. There are tons of phenomenal blogs out there that I haven’t seen, and they, too, might very well be worthy of these fabulous nominations. That said, I would like YOU to tell me about your favorite blogs and bloggers.

Who are your “go to” bloggers? Whose posts do you regularly read, and who would you recommend for others to read?

I’m always in the market for new reading, so please share your suggestions/loves/favorites below!

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Awards

March 1, 2013

Blog-iversary

By Eva Rieder

Just a quick note to say:

One year ago today, I made my very first post on this blog. It’s been a wonderful experience made extra special by all of you!

So, happy blog-iversary to us, and thank you for being a part of my journey. (And fun fact: the title of my first post was…The Journey!)

Thanks again, everyone. 🙂

-Eva

P.S. For anyone who missed Wednesday’s post, it’s now up on my page. My WP fail apparently created little technical foul-up waves so that it only went out to some email addresses (what?)… Hopefully by year two there will be no more mishaps! 😉

 

Comments Off on Blog-iversary   |  tags: , , , | posted in Musings from the Heart

December 3, 2012

Break Time

By Eva Rieder

Hello Readers!

After some lengthy deliberation, I’ve decided I need to take a temporary break from this blog. It was a tough choice—I love everything about blogging, including hearing the wonderful thoughts you all have to share—but it’s also a necessary one. Between work and home I’m running around like a maniac, and I’m simply not getting enough creative writing in. This year has been all about me rediscovering my passion for writing, and while I’ve made huge progress, I want to spend the rest of the year making more significant strides toward crafting a body of work.

I plan to return at some point in January with an update and a potential new blogging schedule. I’ll still be accessible on Facebook and Twitter (though I’ve been a terrible tweeter these last few months—bad bird!—but this will change), so please feel free to find me on any of these networks: my Facebook page, my regular Facebook, or on Twitter. You can also sign up for my newsletter by sending an email to EvaRieder-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

If you’d like to know more of what I’m writing, please check out my Flash Fiction Works. I’m working on longer pieces currently, but these should give you a feel for what I’m up to while I’m away.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. May the end of 2012 bring you much happiness, and the start of 2013 bring hope for more to come!

Best wishes,
Eva

Comments Off on Break Time   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in About My Work, Writing News

September 6, 2012

Blogging is Like a Love Affair

By Eva Rieder

In my last post, I wrote about why I started blogging and what it is that my blog is about. I guess I’ve been thinking about my blog a lot this week, because this morning it occurred to me that I consider it a bit of a love affair.

To be fair, I think this idea formed as a small kernel a few months back, when my blogger pal Vanessi Grassi mentioned she thought of her blog as her boyfriend. It probably sounds weird out of context, but as soon as I read the sentence, I found myself nodding along. Over the months since, though, I’ve discovered that blogging may be more of an affair than I originally suspected.

I’m not talking about the kind of love affair that only lasts for one night—clearly I talk too much for this blog to have ended then, and that wouldn’t make for much content anyway. I’m thinking more of the long-term love affair, one following the ebbs and flows of a relationship that will last for many, many years.

Blogging begins with that initial rush of excitement one might feel at the start of a relationship. That oh-so-sweet captivation when you think, Oh my goodness, he is so amazing! Except here, it’s Oh my goodness, I’m running a blog! Everything you see stirs the thoughts up in your head that you want to share. Ooh, we can talk about this, and that, and oh that over there—won’t he think that’s so interesting? There seems an endless supply of things to talk about over wine and perhaps the occasional dinner.

Next there comes a period of adjustment—no two people ever fall into step perfectly, you know. It’s the same with blogging. You set a schedule, and then maybe you change it up a bit, blogging four days a week instead of two, but then maybe five days a week instead of three. It’s much like those first few months of dating. Should we see each other this much? you may ask. Should I leave my toothbrush…er…all my personal thoughts in the sidebar? Hard to say.

How sick of each other might you become?

And BAM. You overdo it. All this mushy lovey dovey business is getting out of hand, and all of a sudden it’s time for a blog break. (All the big name couples are doing it, by the way.) There may have been a misunderstanding. Or he got a little smothering. Who knows. Regardless, we’re on a break!

But over time, you realize how much you liked blogging. Sure, it’s hard to cram it all in. Life is busy. There’s work, and the home life, and maybe kids, or 8,000 hobbies, and all of it is taking up your every breathing moment, but still, that blog was great. That blog understood me. That loyal and faithful sweetheart—it brought out the best in you, giving you leeway to explore on those days you weren’t blogging…so you come running back. (Plus, he even takes out the trash with his nifty spam sifter!)

The two of you grow together. You compromise and create a new schedule, one where both of you can have your personal time. You also decide that there are things you can do to strengthen the foundation of your relationship—whoops, I mean your blog. You don’t need to take Tango or cooking classes to do this, you two are so amazing together. Heck no! Instead, you work on improving what you are. You may even come up with a new blog feature that allows both of you to flex your creative muscles at the same time!

You discover you’re in it for real now, and when you’re a real blogger, you’re not only running one yourself but reading up on others. But you and your blog are a team; you want to share this experience as one. (It’s called polybloggery, folks, and it’s 2012. Don’t be so close-minded!) You and your blog hold hands and check out other blogs. You click on all the tempting links over at that one flashy site. You read all the words together, a sexy new game to kickstart your relationship. You comment on how hot their thoughts are, and both of you feel like a better match because you’re able to hear each other’s inner fantasies.

Maybe you even start “the list”—the infamous list of people everyone has for the day they’re trapped in an elevator and cheating just naturally happens. Listen, if for some reason I can’t write with you, it’s because so-and-so caught me alone [by email] and asked if I wanted to do it [guest blog] and of course I had to say yes because she [awesome blogger!] is on the LIST! 

Which of course leads to the day when you have to come home to your blog and confess that you’ve been cheating. In fact, every single day, you’ve been cheating, because you’ve been writing on the side—but it’s the way you were before you started this blog, dammit, and your blog has to understand. Baby, I’m a writer! I can’t be trapped in just this blog! I have to be appreciated for all that I am, for every word coursing through my skull!

And while it’s hard for your blog to adjust, it gets it. It gets you. Because this blog, folks—it’s the real deal. It loves you no matter what you are, who you are, or where you’ve been. Sure, you have some flaws (I mean, really, you’re following what other blog about nail polish and shoes?), but overall you are still the same loving person you were. Your blog can take it. It’s true love. It’s the kind of love affair that will last a lifetime.

That is why, on mornings like today—when I woke up and thought Oh my god! I have to blog tonight! I have 80,000,000 things to do and my blog wants me to rub his feet again?—I eventually crawled out of bed with a smile. There may be a lot to do, but I sure do love blogging. We keep growing and exploring together, and most importantly, writing together.

So for being that great of a companion, this blog is worth every darn character on the page to me.

🙂

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Musings from the Heart, On Writing

August 26, 2012

The Liebster Blog Award!

By Eva Rieder

 

I’m delighted to have been nominated for another award by fellow blogger Nathan Payne! Nathan runs The Writer’s Codex, a site following his journey through the writing process. I enjoy Nathan’s blog because he manages to share his real feelings on the writing process (gut wrenching and all!), while also posting some helpful and thought-provoking info on the field. In addition, he posts impressively often (go Nathan go!). Nathan has been following my blog for a few weeks now, so I am flattered that he thought of me for the Liebster Blog Award. Thanks, Nathan!

Pursuant to the Liebster Blog Award rules, Nathan has provided eleven questions designed to “get to know me” outside of my blog. After I answer Nathan’s incredibly challenging questions (he even stressed he wanted his recipients to think hard—geez, Nathan! :)), I will be providing my eleven nominees with eleven new questions to answer.

First, the answers to Nathan’s questions:

1. What prompted you to start your blog?

A little over two years ago, I found my way back to writing. In the summer of 2011, I decided I was serious about doing what I’d said I wanted to do my entire life—be a writer. I set to work on a plan of action, booking a conference, writing regularly, and even getting an English credential (both because I wanted a change, and because I wanted my job to more closely align with my love of writing). Then in March, it was time to launch my website and blog. I was ready to share my writing journey with the world and to finally live my fantasy.

2. What is one life event/decision that you didn’t expect, but made your life what it is today?

I would say the terrible torn wrist cartilage of 2009. If I didn’t hurt my wrist, I wouldn’t have had some serious time to ponder my aerial antics (find out more here). That pondering led me to the reality check that I really wanted to write, and though I still practice for fun, massacring my wrists while performing would have destroyed any hope of writing. That was something I simply couldn’t do!

3. Do you have any regrets in life? If so, are you doing anything to resolve them?

I try to live a life without regrets. I fret about things excessively sometimes, but I believe that all the things that have happened in my life happened for a reason, even if they were horrific, traumatic, or hard. In some cases I would choose differently if I had the opportunity to go back again, but I think of that less as “regret” and more of “reliving with more life wisdom.” In addition, I would rather “regret” things I’d done than things I’d never even tried, which tends to nullify the concept of regret in my mind. 🙂

4. What specific tasks are you doing to achieve your goals right now?

My goals are to write often and more, and to work on getting published. To do this, I have been getting up extra early (hello, 5 a.m. alarm clock chime!) and putting in about 45 minutes every morning before I leave for work. I try to get more in at night, and have restructured my evenings a bit to make it happen. I’m also aiming to hone in on the plan to write and submit a short story every week—I haven’t gotten there quite yet, but I’m working on it!

5. What one thing do you wish people would remember you for after you’re gone?

My optimism and loyalty. I would do anything for most of my friends and I try to be everybody’s cheerleader! Finding the silver lining is extremely important to me, even if it takes some real searching.

6. What do you enjoy most in life?

Most? (Seriously, Nathan?) I enjoy life the most. Everything about it!

7. If you could make one decision that would change your life forever, what would that decision be?

To become a full-time writer. I’m not even close to there yet, but hey, a girl can dream.

8. What is it about books that draws you them?

The fantastic stories inside. The smell of paper. The black print on white (or cream or beige or tan) background. The way they look stacked up on my coffee table. But mostly, just the words and the stories contained within.

9. Describe your favorite movie in terms of what makes you love it so much.

My favorite movie has been Dangerous Beauty for about ten years. The movie is a biographical drama/romance starring Catherine McCormack and Rufus Sewell, directed by Marshall Herskovitz. It follows the life of an Italian courtesan who falls in love, and I’ve adored the movie since I first saw it. (I own it too, though one of my friends has it now and I don’t know which one. Grr!) The movie is filled with exquisite costumes and set pieces, and of course the sensual nature of the story is smashing too. Honestly, I’ve always liked movies about courtesans, and I’m not sure why. It’s a bizarre and lovely profession, all at the same time. Catherine McCormack is sensational in this role—if you haven’t seen it, I recommend it.

10. Think of a loved one, what one question do you want to ask that person?

Can you live forever, please?

11. What would it take for you to make friends with an old enemy?

I have made friends with many old enemies, some who were worthy, and some who sadly proved again that they were not. It depends on the circumstances, I suppose, but mostly it’s showing that he/she has a good heart.

**

Okay, now that I’ve answered all of Nathan’s heavy questions (!), it’s time to nominate eleven bloggers and give them my own questions. Poking around the internet, I’m finding most Liebster nominees had much easier questions, so I’ll provide my nominees with a mix of hard and easy. 🙂

The questions are:

1. What prompted you to set up a blog?

2. When did you discover you liked to write, and why?

3. What is your favorite writing setting? (Coffee shop, office, etc.)

4. What is your favorite time of day? Least favorite?

5. If you could have anything you wanted, at this moment, what would it be?

6. What is your guilty pleasure?

7. If you were trapped on an island with only three things, what would they be?

8. What is your favorite animal?

9. How would you describe yourself in five words or less?

10. You are offered $100,000,000, but you may never write again. Do you take the money? (Crazy question, I know!)

11. What is your favorite television show, and why?

Somehow I think my nominees will have a much easier go with their questions than I did with Nathan’s! 🙂 Now for the nominees, and I encourage you to seek all of them out. They are:

  • Jessica Vealitzek from True Stories – My favorite blog subscription! Realistic, heart-wrenching, fun, and definitely a great blog to read.
  • Rebecca Lane Beittel at Rebecca of Tomorrow – Her site is a mix of writing insight and maternal joys. Rebecca’s posts make me smile.
  • Anna Meade at Yearning for Wonderland – Whimsical and demonstrating a real gift with flash fiction, Anna’s posts make me think of fairies and butterflies. Unless she’s posting about her new Zombie Apocalypse fitness program, in which case I’m thinking of zombies and running.
  • Regina Swint at Write on Time – I met Regina on SheWrites and have considered her a mentor ever since. She’s thoughtful and kind, and you can hear these traits in every one of her blog posts.
  • Marylin Warner at Things I Want to Tell My Mother – I’m a new follower to this blog, but the concept is beautiful. Marylin focuses on the effects of Alzheimer’s on her mother’s memories and writes a journal to her mother in her honor. It is incredibly striking, and a real emotional journey that moves me through every post.
  • Mike Manz from The Blog (of Destiny) – Mike formerly ran a blog at http://lived-inlife.blogspot.com/ but left it behind to start a more story-focused site. I followed Mike then, and I’ll follow him now. Though I enjoyed his snappy posts, I’ve appreciated the stories I’ve found by him much more, so I’m excited to see where his new blog leads. Congratulations on the change, Mike! 🙂
  • Catrina Barton at Kitty’s Inner Thoughts – She’s fun. She’s peppy. She has intel. Check her out.
  • Daniel Swensen at Surly Muse – Daniel is a whippersnapper, and he can write, too. I enjoy his posts tremendously.
  • Angie Richmond at Write Me Happy – Angie has a good spirit and a warm blog. I like it here.
  • Angela Goff at Anonymous Legacy – I’ve been following Angela for a while on Twitter, but she posts some lovely fiction pieces on her blog. I’m sorry I didn’t start following her blog sooner than I did!

YES, I was supposed to choose eleven, but here are ten. Ten wonderful bloggers that I think truly deserve it and whose work I admire and enjoy! Be sure to check them all out. And once again, thank you to Nathan for the nomination!

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Awards

July 2, 2012

Mi Casa Es Su Casa, or, a Bonus Post!

By Eva Rieder

Yeah, yeah, I know I said I wouldn’t be back all that often while I’m editing, but after spending over seven hours focused on Kyresa today (woo hoo!), I decided that I ought to reward myself with a teeny tiny addendum post.

You may remember my post last week, Clean Space, Fresh Perspective; I went on a mad cleaning spree after being inspired by Anna Meade’s “A Room of My Own” series. Anna runs the lovely Yearning for Wonderland blog, and after seeing my post, she asked if I’d like to participate and share my room. I was of course delighted to join in!

If you’d like to learn more about where all my writing happens, you can do so here: My Room. (There’s even a picture!) A big thank you to Anna for inviting me to participate in the series. It was fun!

Also, after yesterday’s post, I decided I needed to seal in my reestablished confidence as an author…

So I ordered myself some business cards. 🙂

Have a great week, everyone!

Comments Off on Mi Casa Es Su Casa, or, a Bonus Post!   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in About My Work

June 24, 2012

Clean Space, Fresh Perspective

By Eva Rieder

It’s been one full week since I last posted, and it turns out, this time away is incredibly helpful! For those of you just tuning in, I called a Blog Time-Out last Sunday. It’s not entirely a hiatus—me not talking is about as likely as pigs flying while it’s raining cats and dogs on a very cold day in hell—but it is a temporary blogging slow-down while I focus on finally turning Kyresa, my “work in progress,” into a “completed work” instead.

So far, so good! I managed to edit for over 30 hours this week, and I’ve virtually reached my next step: entering all 8,000,000* of my changes into the computer for a final reread. I’ve always been partial to editing on paper, both because staring at a computer screen gives me a headache, and because I prefer being as hands-on as literally possible, but I’ll admit it does tend to lengthen the process. Still, I am far closer to “completed” than before. Hurray!

Last night, when I set my binder beside the keyboard to start entering said 8,000,000* changes, I realized that my desk had gotten completely out of control. I’ve always been a pretty neat person, but after spending seven weeks in a cast a couple years ago, I learned to loosen the reins a bit. This was a wonderful thing to learn because (1) I generally find I need to relax far more than I allow myself to do, and (2) writing is just plain more important than the dishes. While I still clean pretty regularly, I’ve definitely fallen into an old habit: in any given room, and on my desk, there are various piles of things I need to reference. Though I know exactly what is in each pile, I have nowhere to put the items in these piles. I’m sure several of you have this little habit; short of causing a tripping hazard in the middle of the night, it doesn’t seem like such a bad one to have.

But add to this that Anna Meade over at Yearning for Wonderland has been showcasing various author and bloggers’ writing spaces, as well as the glass of wine that was in my hand, and I pretty much lost it over the state of my desk. It didn’t matter that the desk—actually table, there are no drawers on this sad piece of furniture—also served as bill station, supply house, project table, bookshelf, computer hub, and writing place anymore…it had to be cleaned!

So naturally I swooped all my paperwork to the floor (just like in the movies) and started reorganizing. I’m not finished yet, but already, seeing the surface of the table without all the clutter is making me feel better. It has also inspired me to continue into the next stage of Kyresa‘s  final edit! Clean space, fresh perspective, finished project, and very soon, a return to my more regular blog schedule.

In the meantime, I’m going to need to figure out what to do with all the papers I dramatically knocked to the floor. My cat—usually a cuddly sweetheart who thinks she’s a dog—made clear in her extraordinarily devilish look that she has her own plan for them:

Sienna the Troublemaker. Sure…she doesn’t have any plans to mess with this paper stack. At all.

Oh dear…

I’ll be back probably next weekend, folks. Thanks for your patience as I finish this edit, and for reading!

(*Special note: I like to exaggerate. Often with the number 8.)

14 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in About My Work, Musings from the Heart

May 13, 2012

Kreativ Blogger Award

By Eva Rieder

I have been nominated for the Kreativ Blogger Award!

Thank you so much to Rebecca Lane Beittel for nominating me. What an honor! Rebecca is a fellow SheWrites member as well as an author of YA Science Fiction and Fantasy. She is currently working on her second novel, Kingdoms of Blood & Magic. Can’t wait to see how it turns out, Rebecca!

The Kreativ Blogger Award has been winding its way around the blogger circuit for a while, as a way for all of us to share our appreciation of one another, as well as to get to know each other a little better. In addition, it’s a fun way for us to promote the great blogs we’re reading to our own followers.

The Kreativ Blogger Award rules state that I must thank my nominator and provide a link to his/her blog, list 7 things that readers might find interesting about me, and nominate 7 other bloggers.

So, here are 7 things about me that might intrigue you…

1. I wanted to be a doctor when I was a teen. Specifically, a neurosurgeon. I even interned at a hospital and sat in on a surgery! Ultimately, I decided that it would get in the way of writing, and that I didn’t want to be in school my whole life…which is somewhat ironic, considering my day job as a teacher puts me in school. For my whole life. 🙂

2. I have friends with names for almost every season. That’s right, I know a Winter, a Summer, and a Skye (she’s practically a Spring, since she has an incredibly refreshing personality). On the one occasion I got them all together, I threatened to call myself Autumn all night!

3. I use to be an aerial rope artist. I get asked about my circus days a bit, so this seemed a great opportunity to share. I started aerial acrobatics at 25 with a wonderful teacher, Rachel Stegman (she has since started a school in Arizona, and I still think she’s the best!). I’d spent the majority of my life behind a book and occasionally running, so when I started, I didn’t have any strength to work with…but eventually, I trained enough to start performing with Rachel and on my own. I also taught 3 to 7 year olds with her in a few summer camps. My focus was the rope (corde lisse is the official term), and I performed in some demos and cabaret-style shows in San Francisco before a wrist injury took me out of practice for about a year. After my recovery period I gave up performing, picked up other apparatuses, and decided to just practice once or twice a week for fun. This also gave me more time to write, so it turned out to be a very good thing!

4. I am obsessed with knee-high socks, leg warmers, high heels, undergarments, post-its, and nail polish. And by obsessed, I mean I have amassed an impressive collection of each. The knee-high socks get worn at home a lot. The leg warmers don’t get quite the circulation anymore since my circus training lessened. I’m always looking for an opportunity to wear heels, because I most certainly won’t wear them to teach. Undergarments are pretty self-explanatory. The post-its decorate my entire kitchen, car, and bathroom vanity with notes-to-self. As for nail polish—name a color and I’m probably wearing it. Really, it’s just all about options with me. 🙂

5. I taught myself to sew at 23. I had some sewing machine help from my mom, but having decided I needed to make a new costume for Renaissance Faire (yes, I worked that for about eight years, too), I set about on a mission to make my own patterns and create my dream costume. I figured I was a math teacher, after all, so the logical brain would pull it all together somehow. I ended up making three beautiful pieces—again, all about the options—and then made shirts, dresses, pants, costumes, baby clothes, underwear, bathing suits…I even considered started a design company.

6. I have seventeen cousins on my mother’s side alone. And this isn’t even counting step-cousins! My mom is one of eight children so I suppose this isn’t so surprising, but it always boggles my mind. As the oldest of all of them, I’ve watched the family grow and grow…and was delighted as I sat with the youngest cousin last year and we realized that we were twenty-five years apart. Oh my!

7. I feel cheated if I don’t have a pancake breakfast on the weekend. I love pancakes, and I also love making them for friends (this habit started in my teen years). At least one day of the weekend, I make blueberry banana pancakes with a big cappuccino and enjoy them before I do anything else. Sometimes I add bacon, and today I ate all three. 🙂 I love breakfast, and I particularly love pancakes!

Okay, enough about me. Here are 7 other bloggers that I’m following and whose work I deeply enjoy. Be sure to check them out:

1. Jessica Vealitzek’s True STORIES: Jessica’s blog is real, emotional, and also fun. She focuses on the encounters we have in real life, and her tales—as well as her voice—are deeply moving.

2. Vanessa Grassi: Vanessa’s blog follows her journey as she writes and moves into publishing. She is extremely thoughtful in her work and I love the way her heart shines through her writing.

3. theRibz* by Ribal Haj: Ribal writes series fiction, short stories, and poetry on his blog. Remember that phrase, “I love it so much I want to marry it”? That’s how I feel about his poetry pieces. I enjoy his longer works as well, but I’m touched by nearly every poem he posts.

4. Ashley Jillian: This gal has more sass and spunk than a leopard print leotard paired with sparkly sequined shoes. (Okay, terrible analogy, but you get the idea.) I’m still not entirely sure how I found her blog, but her humor is undeniable. She’s tearing up the internet world with her comedy and I love every piece.

5. Dr. Shay Fabbro: Author of Scifi and Fantasy: “Dr. Fab” is just that—completely fabulous. She is an author as well as a University Biology professor. Her posts are both caring and sassy, making her blog extremely fun to read. Her latest entry was titled “Building Webs is For Suckas,” so if that doesn’t give you an idea of how much fun you’ll have reading, I don’t know what will. 🙂

6. Kitty’s Inner Thoughts: Catrina Barton’s blog follows her as she “learns the ins and outs of writing, marketing, and publishing.” She’s shared some great finds in her posts, and has done extensive research on many interesting fantasy and SciFi topics.

7. My Lived-in Life: Mike Manz maintains a blog that I started following fairly recently—he also entered a piece in the Once Upon a Time Unexpected Fairy Tale contest—and so far I’m enjoying his positive thoughts. He is a Canadian author living in China, and his blog is both honest and reflective.

So, there you have it folks! 7 random facts, and 7 entertaining blogs for you to investigate. Thank you again to Rebecca, and of course, to my fabulous readers!

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Awards, Musings from the Heart

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