Cheers, Cavanaugh Blogfest

It happens. You can famous and people want to take some shots at you. In my little world of blogging, there's no one more famous than Alex Cavanaugh. And thanks to Stephen Tremp, David King, Morgan Shamy and Mark Koopmans, today is the massive blogging roast of Alex Cavanaugh.

1. In twenty words or less, describe what Alex looks like.

2.In twenty words or less, who would play Alex in a documentary?
I'm going to cheat and combine my words to answer both these questions. Alex not only looks like Wesley, but Gary Elwes, in his youth will play Alex in the docu-drama. Oh, and there's Mrs. Alex. It is trueeeeee love.

3. In twenty words or less, who does Alex remind you of?
When it comes to blogging, Alex is Tony Stark, a generous genius, making everything look easy compared to us regular folks.

4. In a 100 word flash fiction, use these words: Cavanaugh, Ninja, IWSG, Cosbolt, Guitar For.
The word spread round the cyber kingdom, December 21st marked the end of the world. Nothing could save us except support of the Ninja Cavanaugh and his gang known as IWSG. Using a guitar for inspiration, the captain traveled like a Cosbolt and wove a power through the space time continuum some refer to as the internet. And the world survived, living to write another day.

5. In +/- 40 words, thank Mrs. Cavanaugh for loaning Alex to us.
Thank you, Mrs. C., for allowing us some quality time with dear Alex. We adore him nearly as much as he does you.

Thanks for joining. This is a blogfest and remember to visit the rest of the participants.

Writers4Writers

I thought and thought about it. Should I join another blogfest or bloghop. I figured I shouldn't with all the balls I'm juggling right now.

But Writers4Writers is too great an opportunity to pass up. In today's publishing realities, the best way to make sure readers find your books is through word of mouth or in this case, word of social media. Some very generous people have taken the time to organize this and help out with book exposure.

The kick off star is Nancy S. Thompson promoting her book, The Mistaken. Take a moment to check out this thriller. Love the cover.

Take a moment to like the Writers4Writers facebook page and see if it might be something you want to be part of.  Want to join, go to Stephen Tremp's blog and check out the linky list. I hope you'll take the time to tweet or post on facebook about Nancy's book. Let's make this work.

What do you think about Writers4Writers? Joining? Have your own promotional efforts going? What's working for you?

Insecure Writer: Likes and Reviews

Thanks again, as I say every month on the first Wednesday, to Alex Cavanaugh for starting this monthly get together where writers can encourage each other and ask for help. Every month I meet a few bloggers who are new to me and learn something from nearly everyone I visit. I'm always jotting notes down, buying a few new books, and finding some interesting blogs to follow.

This month I collecting opinions on 'likes' as well as reviews and those little golden rating stars. Many authors I know ask, politely, for their friends on facebook or readers of their blogs to 'like' their books on Amazon. And of course, hoping and requesting your friends to write a review, no matter how short is not too much to ask. Is it?

I have never done anything like this. I hope readers of my books would feel motivated to 'like' or review my books but I never specifically asked them to take the moment needed to click on a button. I 'like' other people's books all the time and about once a month I take the time to write some reviews. I'm pretty far behind on that but I have hopes to catch up on it over the holiday break.

So, I'm wondering, do you ask this of your readers and friends? Do you do it? Is it acceptable? Should I request it? Would you go to this link and click 'like' if I asked it of you? Does it help book sales?

First for Mondays

I read somewhere that this is a special December with five weekends though that also means five Mondays. The good news is that I will have two of them off from the day job. The bad news is the other three. At the least, I have lots to talk about on this first Monday.

With the holiday season comes lots of gatherings with friends, families and coworkers. It also means lots of food, delicious, fun, fattening food. It's very difficult to avoid and refuse all the wonderfulness. So my first Monday health tip is to not refuse it. Instead of being strict about what you eat, try policing your portion size. You can even help yourself with your own baking. Make your cookies smaller. Cut those holiday marshmallow treats into tiny squares. Use smaller plates and even smaller cups for your sweet holiday drinks. And then cut yourself off early in the evening. Eating late can really ruin your weight management goals.

Onto other great things about this first Monday. Today, Lynda R. Young, announces her release of the anthology, Make Believe. Lynda's book can be purchased at this link. And read this short blurb:

Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.

She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.

Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they won’t stop until she’s dead.


Blurbs from all the stories included in Make Believe can be found on the J. Taylor Publishing website HERE.

Read an excerpt here. You can also read the excerpts from all the stories in this series here.

So, how are you going to watch your caloric intake this holiday? Or do you throw caution to the wind and enjoy the feasting and work it off after? Did you go check out Lynda's book?

I Wanna Be a Movie Quote

If your family is like mine, they have an entire repertoire of movie quotes they spout when the situation calls for a clever come back. They seem to have entire movies memorized. A Few Good Men contributes a few the most common, "You can't handle the truth!"

Many of my personal favorites are gleaned from The Princess Bride. I won't insult my audience by reminding them since I know so many of you use them also. Well except for one I must mention. I have three sons, two stepsons and an active husband, I seem to constantly be telling them to enjoy themselves as they go off to play golf together or watch a sporting event. But I can't just say have fun, I usually tell them, "Have fun storming the castle, boys."

Independence Day produces lost of favorites. "Welcome to Earth." "Do your stuff, take them out, take them down...." "We will not go quietly into the night...."

My oldest son's teaching job during his first few years included being in charge of the In-School suspension room. He added a quote to his signature when he sent email around to other teachers. "I am the Law!" Judge Dredd.

What quotes fit into your family or your workplace? Do the people around you recognize them when you use them? Any you've picked up from recent movies?

Full Moon Madness

Is it over yet? I noticed on my desk calendar that today is the full moon. So will the werewolves come out tonight? Will there be more than last year? Will they be joined by vampires?

My real question is, when will the current popularity of vampires, werewolves and other shapechangers be over anytime soon? Demons, angels, and all manner of supernatural heroes, heroines and villains have filled the shelves of genre fiction for a while now. Will the trend continue?

The super commercially successful Twilight series has given the world its last movie but TV still has many shows soldiering on against traditional comedies and dramas. Superhero movies and TV shows have and still are entertaining millions. You can bet I'll be buying my copy of the new Batman movie next week. The fantasy genre is going strong with shows like Game of Thrones and fans are eagerly awaiting The Hobbit.

Justin Cronin's newest book, The Twelve, is calling to me from my towering TBR pile. If you're not familiar with the first book in that series, The Passage, you should give it a try. That is if you like an entirely new, scarier version of the post-apocalyptic vampire.

One of the first things I was told at my very first writing conference was not to try and guess where trends were going. Write what you loved to write. At the time I was writing fantasy romance, not a popular subgenre. I kept going and eventually sold that book to a small press. The only publisher willing to take on such a nontraditional book at the time. Look where we are now?

So do you see the recent popularity of vampires and werewolves waining? Are you looking forward to The Hobbit? Have you read Justin Cronin?

Shopping Haze Daze

I haven't ventured into the black Friday shopping zoo since my children were very small. Even then I think I only tried it once or twice. I may have missed out on a sweet deal or two, but how much money is my time worth? I was quite happy on Friday to stay at home and catch up with some blogging friends and prepare some posts for this week.

I find blogging often slows down for many people this time of year as family and holiday responsibilities soak up so much time. I certainly understand that. Now that my youngest is 18 and my oldest living in his own home, shopping for Christmas gifts is different for me. There are few of those super bargains on my family's wish lists.

Probably they would all like the newest gadgets, iPads, smartphones, and money to buy all the extras that go with them. Perhaps some new Xbox360 game or a computer version of the same. Toys for older kids are certainly more expensive than the GI Joe figures my boys used to ask for. But they probably won't be receiving them. The entire family understands that all economic considerations are given first to college tuition. What greater gift to give my children than a head start into a career?

But that's not to say there aren't things we all want including me. I really need, okay, really, really want a new, better camera. Many times I've seen things I thought would be great additions to a blog post, but my little camera doesn't have the pixels or magnification to take much of a picture. And I do want a tablet of some sort. IPad would be great, but I would settle for a Kindle Fire. Our local newspaper is going mostly digital starting in 2013, so my husband would also get some use out of a nice tablet.

I also need a new printer. The one I have has served faithfully over the years, but it's having some trouble with the paper feed. The better the paper, the more difficulty it has gripping it to feed it through. And I could do some rearranging in my office if I had a wireless printer.

And I need so new tunes on my iPod to keep my workout inspiring. So what new gadgets are on your wish list or your shopping list? Anything you must have or just really, really want? Is your blogging going to slow down between now and the new year?