Fans Were Just a Spam Folder Away All this Time: Friday Feature

A quick recap of the personal highlights of my week:

♥ Hair creased from wearing a ponytail so many days in a row.
♥ Makeup routine consists of blush over cheeks and eyes plus eyeliner.
♥ Wardrobe made up entirely of cotton, elastic, and tennis shoes.
♥ Showers rushed, if they happened.
♥ Lunches of Ramen noodles or leftovers, dinners leftovers or pasta.
♥ Social activities involved children with occasional waves to adults picking up children.
♥ Muscles ache from sitting in a chair typing all day.
♥ Ironed twenty patches for my Daisy Troop girls.

So, can I tell you how excited I was to get this email today from a fan:

"I saw you on MySpace and thought you were cute. Can't wait to connect."

SusieQ, whoever you are, you made my day. I needed it. Haven't been called cute in way too long. Let's look past the small detail that I don't have a MySpace account, I needed the support. And thanks for forwarding to all your friends who also contact me with the exact same message.

Even the dog was needy this week. Case in point:

I get it. You are hungry. Just lay in your bed, and your mom will make sure and transfer the "dog food" to your bowl. I'd love a day of nothing but bed and food.

SusieQ, and all your friends, I honor you with our Friday Feature: Favorite Thing I Read This Week and Why. My Spam folder captured your emails and wouldn't let me use the enclosed links, but I'll always wonder what other nice things you might have said about me if we'd connected. It's comforting to know the fans were a spam folder away all this time.

*****

Although it's hard to trump my favorite read this week, please share yours in the comments. Or, feel free to concur with SusieQ and just tell me I'm cute. ;-)

We Have a Winner

Carol Wong is the winner of a digital copy of Turning Point by Melissa Luznicky Garrett. Thanks to Melissa for the giveaway!

With all the cool applications out there for choosing winners, I still prefer the proven "pull from a hat" method. And, yes, that is crayon (only writing instrument I could find).

Thank you to everyone who entered. Stay tuned for more exciting giveaways and book happenings here and at Mom in Love with Fiction.

Choosing Topics for a Random Blog: Guest Post

Please welcome Lisa Pollard from Insignificant at Best, a wonderful blog full of random topics and interesting takes. Lisa and I met through the Ultimate Blog Challenge and quickly became friends. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Lisa's blog became "a favorite thanks to the way she weaves together randomness with beautiful threads of humor, honesty, and wit."

Enjoy her post!

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Choosing Topics for a Random Blog

I have to tell you that I was thrilled and honored when Tia asked me to write a guest post for her blog!  I’ve been a fan of the Depression Cookies blog for a while now and just recently bought the book (which I can’t wait to read!!!).  So getting to guest post for Depression Cookies is a real treat (no pun intended…lol)!

When I asked her what she’d like me to write about, one of her suggestions was “How do you choose your topics, since you post about different things and don't, in general, have a theme?”.  To be honest, when I decided to start blogging, I realized there was no way I could write a “niche” blog.  I love to talk and share my opinions on all kinds of things, so I knew “niche” blogging wasn’t for me.  Like I say in the About Me section of my site “I’m not one to stick to a single subject, my mind doesn’t work that way, so neither does my blog”.

I actually started blogging back in 2009, but it didn’t quite take.  I could never think of anything to write and when I did, half the time it was some type of self-discovery crap nobody would want to read. Not even me.

Needless to say my blogging was “sporadic” at best.  Looking back now, I realize it was because I was in a pretty deep depression.  2009 was by far the worst year of my life, and I wasn’t ready to share all of my darkest thoughts with the world.

Then April of this year I sat down and wrote a post called Anyone Still Out There?!? and that was it.  I was off and running and I haven’t looked back since.  I honestly don’t know what changed, other than the fact that I’m in a much better place in my life, but I’m glad it did.  I’ve met a lot of really amazing people through blogging, like Tia, and I’ve found it to be insanely therapeutic! 

Okay, wow, I’ve gone incredibly off course here.  Back to the topic at hand.

I’d like to say I have this genius way of coming up with blog post ideas, but I don’t.  I share what makes me laugh, I share the things I love (music, products, websites, etc.), or I just plain talk about whatever is on my mind that day.

However, if you’re looking for an easy way to come up with post topics, a way that requires little thought on your part, do a Google search for Blog Challenges.  This was one of the very first things I did, and it worked out really well for me.  I found a 30 Day Blog Challenge, which allowed me to share with my readers a lot about myself.  I gained a lot of followers during that time and people seemed to really like it.

One other trick I have up my sleeve is a list of topics I want to write about.  I have a blog post draft where I write down all the things that come to me and seem like good post topics. Sometimes they don’t pan out, but for the most part the list hasn’t failed me.  Plus, if I’m ever at a loss, I have a “go to” list of ideas.  I’m constantly on the lookout for ideas to add to this list, too. Recently, I was in the car and realized how annoying the electronic signs on the freeway were and it turned into a guest post for another blog.  I currently have a post about my annoying co-worker waiting in the wings.  She’s… interesting, to say the least.  LOL Just be aware of your surroundings and constantly on the lookout for things you want to share with your readers.

I’ve also gotten ideas from reading other people’s blogs (e.g., my Bad Poetry Day post I wrote thanks to Tia).  Surprisingly once the blogging bug bit me, it really hasn’t been a problem.  Though I’ve only been actively blogging for about 5 months now, so check back with me next year. ;)

Any questions?  Please ask away in the comments below!  Any suggestions on how to come up with topics that you’d like to share?  Please share in the comments below!

Riding the Muse Wave: ROW 80 Check In

It's the mid-week A Round of Words in 80 Days check in and I'm cruising along. I know there are worse problems to have, but I'm overwhelmed by too many ideas. Sometimes, I struggle to come up with blog post and story ideas. Not this week... ideas are coming at me left and right.

Again, not complaining. I feel like I'm on a vacation, floating on my surfboard on a gorgeous day, and staring down multiple perfect waves. Which one to take? I don't want to deliberate too long or I might miss the perfect one. But is there such a thing as a perfect one?

Now you've seen the inner workings of my overstimulated brain. Oops. I should remain more mysterious.

At the end of the day, I appreciate the blessing of choices and overflowing ideas.

Progress this week:

Depression Cookies Blog
Results: Blogging daily.
Reaction: Yeah!

Mom in Love with Fiction
Results: One post so far this week, but working on a review and another post.
Reaction: Chugging right along.

Writing
Results: I wrote 2,000 words since Sunday.
Reaction: Should be fist-pumping right now, and I would be, except... not one of these words was on the Depression Cookies follow-up or my YA novel. A new idea hit me and I ran with it, afraid to lose a single word. I honor the muse, but need her to focus!

Miscellaneous
Results: Journal writing needs some focus, especially with my girls. Hectic schedules don't help. Haven't started either writing book, but will soon.
Reaction: It'll happen!

Hope everyone is burning up the goals this week.

Are you ever faced with too many ideas? What do you do?

Showing The Love, Blog-Style

I love featuring guest posts on our blog. And, no, it's not just to save myself from dipping into the idea well too often. It's to showcase something different, a little treat for our readers. Now don't get me wrong, it does help spark ideas and preserve my well. And, no, I'm not above calling Mom or one of my sisters to join the party here!

Guest posts are also a way to grow my blogosphere. What better way to find new blog friends than to see a guest post on a blog I already value? It's like the song my daughter sings every Girl Scout meeting, "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold."

Today, Lisa Pollard of Insignificant at Best is featuring my post, Be Careful What You Wish For. I found Lisa's blog through the Ultimate Blog Challenge. It quickly became a favorite thanks to the way she weaves together randomness with beautiful threads of humor, honesty, and wit. Please stop by and say hello.

A sneak peek from today's guest post:

My life had many goodbyes, but just as many hellos. I’m not afraid to put myself out there and meet people, to try on another hat.

Funny, that's exactly how I feel about welcoming guests to our blog. I've met so many new people since Depression Cookies was published a year ago. What a journey it has been. I am thankful for all the bloggers, readers, writers, and others who have touched my life.

Please stop by tomorrow to read Lisa's post discussing how she picks blog topics. You don't want to miss it!

Have Internet friendships been rewarding or even surprised you?

When You Are Young: Tub-Full Tuesday

Mom stops by to share for our Tub-Full Tuesday feature. Enjoy!

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When you are young, you never think you resemble anyone but your divine self. You cringe when Aunt Mary declares to the whole family reunion you are the spitting image of Beulah May Greer. From discussions around the table, you know this is not a compliment, at all. You’ve garnered from these tell-alls the woman had a hawk nose, beady eyes, a low narrow forehead, drab hair, and a slight harelip. The more you hear, the more you feel akin to the Hunchback, but as a youngster, you’d much rather be Morticia.

Recently, the idea of favoring family has become precious. As you get older, the sweetness of those imperfections marries you into a unit of generations of people, all different and all unique. I have noted in the last two years, I am favoring my mother more and my dad’s family less. I actually see her when I look into the mirror. I’m honored, although the resemblance is as my mother aged, not in her former beauty. The mirror may be insidious at times, but I am thankful to see my heritage spread deep and wide on my being. Here’s the poem I wrote about this.

Mirror of Fate

Early mornings I stare closely

            at lines

            wrinkles

            frown cracks

            brown spots

            broken veins

It refuses to lie even

            in dim light -

            casting

            eerie

            shadows

            along the

            alar of

            my nose

I pull and stretch

            loose skin

            flappy folds

            crows feet

            pleated lips

            paunchy jaws

            into an

            Oriental

            bliss

 It continues to mock

            laughing

            out loud

            until I

            release

            the tension

            and sag

            back

            into

Mama’s

aging face

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I hoped this filled your tub today.

What is your favorite part of aging? Least favorite?

Exciting New YA Book and Giveaway: Turning Point, Melissa Luznicky Garrett

Being part of the writing community has been a blessing in so many ways. I am learning so much, but the added benefit is finding out about new books and exciting authors. Even better, I get to pass this information along to my readers.

I am so excited to post this press release for Melissa Luznicky Garrett's young adult novel, Turning Point. I met Melissa through the online writing community, and she's been an amazing support. Her novel, Precipice, is next in my to-be-read pile.

Melissa has been kind enough to offer a free digital copy of Turning Point to one lucky reader. Please see details below.

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Turning Point

_______________________________________________________

Melissa Luznicky Garrett

She recalled her mother’s warning: Bad things always happen to nice girls like you.

Convinced a fresh start is all she needs to escape the problems at home, seventeen-year-old Jenna Lyons runs away in the middle of the night. But when her car breaks down on the outskirts of La Grange, Missouri, population less than a thousand, she gets sucked into the small town, and one family in particular. Jenna discovers there’s a liar in La Grange, and he’s deceived everyone. Now she must decide whether to run away from the truth, or blow his secret wide open.

“The tornado isn't the only thing that twists in this story--if you love dark characters with even darker secrets,

TURNING POINT is for you!” ~Anne Riley, author of The Clearing

“TURNING POINT is a YA thriller that will rock your socks, young or old. You should add it to your wish list immediately. I recommend it to anyone who loves stories that expose hidden secrets.” ~Tegan Allen, review on Goodreads

Published by Create Space

ISBN 1461149703 (ISBN13: 9781461149705)

Available In Print and Online:

Create Space

Amazon

Smashwords

Barnes & Noble

Watch the TURNING POINT book trailer on YouTube.

Melissa Luznicky Garrett is an author of adult and young adult novels. TURNING POINT is Melissa’s second published book. She lives with her husband and children in upstate New York, where she is currently at work on her next book. Connect with Melissa on her blog: http://www.MLGarrett.blogspot.com.

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Hidden secrets, twists, deception... what more could you want? A free digital copy!

For an entry into the contest, please leave your answer (and email) to the following question in the comments below: Do book trailers influence your decision to buy books?

For an extra entry, please tweet this post or post a Facebook link so we can show Melissa some love. (two extra entries if you do both) Please leave a comment below letting me know you shared.

Let the fun begin... my trusty assistant, my oldest daughter, will draw a name out of a hat on Wednesday evening, October 12. Good luck!