Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Love In all Its Forms

I hope you'll visit me today at the Blogging from A to Z site where I'm talking about how easy it is to participate in the challenge if you're part of a group blog. And I'll be begging for more helpers again. Please think about helping.

Also today, Alex Slater, a literary agent, is a guest on the IWSG blog. The guests always have something helpful and interesting to offer.

Thanks for all the great comments on Monday's post when I mentioned how love of one sort or another is a central plot point in most well-known stories. Besides the exciting booksigning I have coming up on Saturday, I'm having a lovely week connecting with some friends. Today I'm having lunch with three wonderful ladies who were my friends through my early years of teaching. They retired years before I left the field and we lost contact for a few years. But I reached out and now the band is getting back together today. I can't wait. We have so much catching up to do but otherwise it will be like we just saw each other yesterday.

"You can't measure the mutual affection of two human beings by the number of words they exchange."  Milan Kundera

I wanted to thank Tyrean Martinson for nominating me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. I'm quite humbled to have received this twice since the start of 2015. I'm not sure I deserve it but thanks a bunch. As part of it, I'm supposed to mention three things that have inspired in the past few weeks.

1. My daughter is attending college in Boston. Her situation there has inspired me not to complain about winter for over two week now.
2. My good friend, Ava Quin, signed with an agent last week. Her hard work toward her writing goals has inspired me to keep chasing mine.
3. The loss of our family friend last week has inspired to me to reach out to some friends I haven't spend enough time with lately. Life is too short.

Instead of naming the 15 bloggers to pass this award to, I invite everyone to take the time this week to think of who has inspired you lately. Thanks, again, Tyrean.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."
Walter Winchell

Writing wise, I'm doing a final galley read through on Keepers of Sulbreth and am half-way through the second round of edits for War Dragon, the follow up book to First Dragon. In other words, really busy.

Have you been inspired by someone this week? Can you think of some good friends you've been out of touch with? Did you sign up for A to Z? Wanna be my helper?







25 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Love is central to many stories. Makes the world go round!
I also quoted you today on my blog.
I bet your daughter is sick of snow.
And will visit the A to Z Blog next!

Susan Scott said...

I'm sorry for your loss of your family friend Susan. Life is short indeed. Yes, I've signed up and I wish I could offer my help as helper but I can't!
Am too out of touch with good friends .. time to reach out. And yes I've been inspired by those who commented on my blog.
Good luck with your books!

Stephanie Faris said...

Sounds like an exciting week. Good luck with your book signing. Post pictures and tell us how it went! I love seeing authors at events.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

My daughter is sooo sick of snow and wind and drifts and maybe even hot chocolate.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

You can only do what you can do. Maybe next year you can be a helper.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I will have pictures for sure. Can't wait.

cleemckenzie said...

Author events are always so wonderful. Meeting your readers is amazing. Enjoy. And congrats on your award.

Chrys Fey said...

I've never done a book signing, so I;m excited to hear all about yours. :) Congratulations on your award!

Shanaya Tales said...

Hi Susan,

I would love to help you out. But, I am not sure if I will be able to help as I am relatively new to blogging. However, if it is something that I can do, I will. Let me know.
Thank you so much for the kind words you left me.
-Shantala

Pat Hatt said...

i agree with your daughter, snow sucks. Too much of the crap here. Life is too short indeed

Liz Blocker said...

LOL, I'm with your daughter!!!

Anonymous said...

I've signed up for the challenge and I'm interested in being a helper, but I'm not sure what exactly that entails. Can you give more info? My email is victimtocharm (at) gmail, which is the best way to contact me!!

Crystal Collier said...

Yeah... I've been nominated twice two in the last two weeks, and I keep thinking, I really need to get on top of this. Never enough time...

I've been getting excited about the A to Z challenge with everyone's talk, but I'll just be participating by commenting this year, as I feel able. 5 weeks and I'm back to sleepless nights, diapers and midnight feedings. Oh boy. Here we go!

dolorah said...

Ah sorry, no doing A-Z, I am hoping to be back to full time employment before then. Keeping my fingers crossed anyway. It is always good to reconnect with old friends. Tragedy makes the heart cherish friendships and loved ones more.

Have a fun writing week.

Ann Bennett said...

I didn't know A to Z would be so much fun. I've enjoyed reading so many new blogs and learned new things.
Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? I would like to help with the challenge. I'm not that person who spends hours on the computer but I can make some contribution. Just point me in the right direction.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Oh, Ann, you lovely person. You can be one of my helpers without spending hours. It only entails visiting a few blogs and letting me know if they're not participating, I take it from here.

Christine Rains said...

Congrats on the award! We're lucky the snow has missed us. Your guest post on my blog has gotten over 300 views. Good work! :)

Tyrean Martinson said...

You deserve that award! I'm glad you've had some time to visit with friends.

The Happy Whisk said...

Sorry to hear about your friend.

Julie Musil said...

So sorry to hear about your friend. And winter in Boston? Oy. This California girl could not handle a real winter.

LD Masterson said...

There is a fun photo making the rounds of a church sign that reads: Whoever is praying for snow, please stop.

I feel for all our family and friends in the Boston area.

David P. King said...

Love finds a way into my stories for some reason. I'm just a softy at heart, I guess. Sorry for your loss, Susan. I'm wishing you well. :)

mshatch said...

I'm going to miss a-z this year, darn it (going away for 2 weeks) and oh boy, I feel for your daughter in Boston. We've gotten dumped on here in Maine but my understanding is that Boston has gotten clobbered - and more snow coming this weekend. Woopee!

Arlee Bird said...

You've reminded me that I have several friends that I should call to catch up on things with. I've been bad over the past few years about keeping up with my old friends. Though I guess they could call me too.

Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out

Margo Kelly said...

Life is too short, and I appreciate your thoughts in this post. Thank you for sharing. :)