Ash Krafton's Blog, page 24
October 23, 2012
Coffin Hop 2012: Ghosts in Gettysburg
Last year, we took a family vacation to Gettysburg, PA. Lucky for me I have children who are interested in history and educational trips so going to Gettysburg was a no-brainer. (My teen daughter and her dad are also huge fans of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter so, for them, it was a fan event.)
Although we planned all our activities around historical touring, I had a persistent ulterior motive: ghost hunting.
Gettysburg is the site of the three-day battle that ended the Civil War. It was here that Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address. It was also here that tens of thousands of men died, their lives cut short by the tragedies of war. We saw bullet holes in buildings, field upon field of solemn memorials...and about a gazillion places offering scenic ghost tours.
Do you know how hard it was for me to pass them up? Wednesday is my favorite day of the week because it's a Ghost Hunters marathon on Syfy. I LOVE scaring myself. My family, on the other hand, aren't so much into ghost hunting. I really had to bite my tongue and soldier on through a week of no ghost hunting in one of the most haunted towns in the country.
The ghosts of Gettysburg must have sensed my disappointment, though, because, when we didn't go looking for them, they came looking for us.
Here is one of my favorite ghost stories...
As I said, while in Gettysburg, we planned several historic tours. In addition to a guided bus tour of the battlefields, we also visited each of the many museums in town. There was one particular museum that my daughter did not want to visit: The Soldiers' National Museum.
The Soldiers' National Museum is located in the former home of the National Soldier's Orphan Homestead. It's also the site of a spooktacular ghost tour where the brave (or foolish) can descend into the cellars to collection of battlefield relics. It took us a long time to get through the museum and my darling daughter hated the whole thing.
see where the cruel matron chained her children in crude dank dungeons--and worse. My daughter was NOT interested in running into the ghosts of tortured orphans.
I tried a comforting approach when encouraging her to go through the museum. "When we go in," I told her, "Just tell yourself we are a family who is looking to adopt a new brother or sister. That way, if any spirit attaches itself to us, it will be happy, not scary. When we get back to the door, the spirit will pass through and go on to find peace."
She stuck out her chin in stubborn defiance and grumbled at me.
The museum was neat. It had a life-sized scene of soldiers with cannons at the beginning and then went on to display artifacts, detailed dioramas, and a huge
She declared she had a headache when we first walked in. Then, as we progressed through the tour, she developed a stomach ache. Her maladies progressed to the point where, by the end of the tour, my husband carried her: she was completely flopped over his shoulder. At twelve, she was already long and lanky and her arms and legs just hung, listless. She was a total wreck.
I couldn't get her to look in the dungeon display at the end, literally a hole in the floor over in the corner. It seems to be an afterthought to the museum but, remembering what I'd told my daughter, I wasn't going to leave without at least acknowledging those poor unfortunates. My poor child moaned and groaned until we walked outside...
...and she had an instant, miraculous recovery.
I passed the whole thing off as her way of protesting the whole visit. Until, that is, when I looked at the pictures I took along the way.
This is the first photo I took in the museum, where my daughter's headache began progressing into her almost-coma. Look closely between the second and third figures. Although we passed through a lot of dark and dusty rooms in the museum, this is the only orb image I captured. If it had been dust, it would have appeared in other pictures--and I took close to thirty in areas like this one.
Take another look, this time at the zoomed image.
Could it be? Did my daughter attract a child's trapped spirit with the promise of a new home and new life? Did she lead it to peace when she took it out of the museum with her? I like to think so.
Do you have a ghost story and maybe even a photo to share? I'd love to hear your tales!
The Giveaway
The giveaway is a two-part deal. Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter a drawing.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Then, if you love ghost hunting as much as I do, leave a comment with your tale. Anyone who leaves a haunting in a comment will be entered to win a special prize: a skeleton to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. I picked up this fella in the Mexican Pavilion of Epcot Center on my trip to Disney last week. To qualify for the calaca giveaway, you need to also need to fill out the Rafflecopter form.
Have fun, good luck, and thanks for ghost hunting with me. To go back to the main list of Coffin Hoppers, go here.
Although we planned all our activities around historical touring, I had a persistent ulterior motive: ghost hunting.
Gettysburg is the site of the three-day battle that ended the Civil War. It was here that Lincoln delivered the famous Gettysburg Address. It was also here that tens of thousands of men died, their lives cut short by the tragedies of war. We saw bullet holes in buildings, field upon field of solemn memorials...and about a gazillion places offering scenic ghost tours.
Do you know how hard it was for me to pass them up? Wednesday is my favorite day of the week because it's a Ghost Hunters marathon on Syfy. I LOVE scaring myself. My family, on the other hand, aren't so much into ghost hunting. I really had to bite my tongue and soldier on through a week of no ghost hunting in one of the most haunted towns in the country.
The ghosts of Gettysburg must have sensed my disappointment, though, because, when we didn't go looking for them, they came looking for us.
Here is one of my favorite ghost stories...
As I said, while in Gettysburg, we planned several historic tours. In addition to a guided bus tour of the battlefields, we also visited each of the many museums in town. There was one particular museum that my daughter did not want to visit: The Soldiers' National Museum.
The Soldiers' National Museum is located in the former home of the National Soldier's Orphan Homestead. It's also the site of a spooktacular ghost tour where the brave (or foolish) can descend into the cellars to collection of battlefield relics. It took us a long time to get through the museum and my darling daughter hated the whole thing.see where the cruel matron chained her children in crude dank dungeons--and worse. My daughter was NOT interested in running into the ghosts of tortured orphans.
I tried a comforting approach when encouraging her to go through the museum. "When we go in," I told her, "Just tell yourself we are a family who is looking to adopt a new brother or sister. That way, if any spirit attaches itself to us, it will be happy, not scary. When we get back to the door, the spirit will pass through and go on to find peace."
She stuck out her chin in stubborn defiance and grumbled at me.
The museum was neat. It had a life-sized scene of soldiers with cannons at the beginning and then went on to display artifacts, detailed dioramas, and a huge
She declared she had a headache when we first walked in. Then, as we progressed through the tour, she developed a stomach ache. Her maladies progressed to the point where, by the end of the tour, my husband carried her: she was completely flopped over his shoulder. At twelve, she was already long and lanky and her arms and legs just hung, listless. She was a total wreck.
I couldn't get her to look in the dungeon display at the end, literally a hole in the floor over in the corner. It seems to be an afterthought to the museum but, remembering what I'd told my daughter, I wasn't going to leave without at least acknowledging those poor unfortunates. My poor child moaned and groaned until we walked outside...
...and she had an instant, miraculous recovery.
I passed the whole thing off as her way of protesting the whole visit. Until, that is, when I looked at the pictures I took along the way.
This is the first photo I took in the museum, where my daughter's headache began progressing into her almost-coma. Look closely between the second and third figures. Although we passed through a lot of dark and dusty rooms in the museum, this is the only orb image I captured. If it had been dust, it would have appeared in other pictures--and I took close to thirty in areas like this one.
Take another look, this time at the zoomed image.
Could it be? Did my daughter attract a child's trapped spirit with the promise of a new home and new life? Did she lead it to peace when she took it out of the museum with her? I like to think so.
Do you have a ghost story and maybe even a photo to share? I'd love to hear your tales!
The Giveaway
The giveaway is a two-part deal. Fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter a drawing.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Then, if you love ghost hunting as much as I do, leave a comment with your tale. Anyone who leaves a haunting in a comment will be entered to win a special prize: a skeleton to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. I picked up this fella in the Mexican Pavilion of Epcot Center on my trip to Disney last week. To qualify for the calaca giveaway, you need to also need to fill out the Rafflecopter form.
Have fun, good luck, and thanks for ghost hunting with me. To go back to the main list of Coffin Hoppers, go here.
Spooktacular G!veaway Hop!
This is a stop on the SPOOKTACULAR GIVEAWAY HOP, a festive gathering of over 400 blogs. We've got prizes and posts and lots of Halloween fun!If you are like me, you like to hit as many blogs as you can...so let's cut right to the giveaway. :)
Fill out the Rafflecopter and enter to win some spooktacular stuff!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I'll leave you with a few photos I took last week on my Halloween trip to Disney. I love it when Cinderella's Castle gets a sinister makeover.
Return to the blog hop here or select your next stop from the list below...
October 10, 2012
QueryTracker Blog: Author Melissa Landers
QueryTracker Blog: Interview with Author Melissa LandersRecently, I had the opportunity to chat with author Melissa Landers. (Her Query Tracker success story can be found here.)
She writes contemporary romance as Macy Beckett and is celebrating the release of her debut SULTRY WITH A TWIST. (Ms. Landers is also looking forward to the release of ALIENATED, a YA sci-fi novel forthcoming with Disney Hyperion.)
Ms. Landers shares the secrets of her success and offers valuable advice for aspiring authors. Spoiler alert: she makes it sound amazingly easy!
Read more on the Query Tracker blog to learn how Melissa turned writing as a creative outlet into the brilliant start of a double-genre writing career.
Ready to check out Macy Beckett's SULTRY WITH A TWIST?
Find Sultry with a Twist (Sultry Springs)
on Amazon Barnes & Noble
and
Indie Bound
October 5, 2012
Halloween Keeps Me Hopping
...and, no. It's not because some witch turned me into a frog. Although that might actually be cool for a while--my frog-pond residents are spoiled. :) It's that time again--the time for ghostlights in the yard and costumes from the cosplay company and blog hops with my Halloweenie writer friends.
This year, I'll be hopping with a couple of different events so mark your calendars. It's going to be a busy week!
2012 Annual COFFIN HOP
Join me and my dark fantasy/horror story-slinging friends for a week of creepy delights. The hop begins October 24, 2012.
Bloggers who would like to participate in the Coffin Hop can sign up at the Coffin Hop Hub. This is my favorite hop of the year so I hope you'll stop by. HALLOW-BLOG HOP
I'll also be participating in another hop that week. This Halloween blog hop is hosted by Sunset Reader Reviews and Forbidden Passions. You can see the sign-up list and links on this post from Sunset Reader.
SPOOKTACULAR GIVEAWAY HOPHosted by I Am a Reader, Not a Writer and The Diary of a Bookworm, this is without doubt the BIGGEST EVENT I've ever joined--there are almost 500 blogs listed in this thing! You definitely want to get your housework done the week before this hop...check out the list right here and see why you don't want to miss out on this hop.
I'll be giving away gift cards and ebooks and swag and who knows what else during these hops so I hope you'll stop by. (I can't wait to see what goodies come home from Disney with me this year!)
Watch the blog for individual posts to announce each event and enter for your chance to WIN, WIN, WIN!
September 28, 2012
Guest Post: Greek Mythology Behind PANDORA by Joanna Parypinski
I am a mythology junkie.
Always have been. Since junior high, I've been fascinated by the mythology of the ancient world...Roman, Nordic, Persian, Egyptian...and Greek. Definitely Greek. They had the coolest legends. When the rest of my friends were reading Judy Blume, I had my nose stuck in an encyclopedia.
(It may be hereditary, too, as my eleven-year-old son has a real thing for Greek mythology. Or...maybe it's Rick Riordan's fault. *shrug* He's even trying to learn how to read Greek. Good luck, kiddo.)
I'm not the only one fascinated by the realms of the gods and their cursed minions. One of my author friends, Joanna Parypinski, is just as much of a Greek geek as I am. She's proud to announce the release of her novel PANDORA.
Yep...that Pandora.
Joanna is gracious enough to stop by and share a guest post on the wonderful world of gorgons and gods...specifically, on the myth of Pandora and her infamous box. Read on...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Long ago, in an ancient and magical world of gods and demons, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the first woman. The gods gifted her with clothes, beauty, and speech, and they called her Pandora. She was given a beautiful container and told not to open it, but naturally, her curiosity overwhelmed her. When she opened the box, all the evil trapped within it escaped and spread across the Earth.
The legend of Pandora is an iconic one used time and again in books, movies, television, and music—mainly as a cautionary tale. The idea of opening Pandora’s Box is now synonymous with creating some sort of evil that cannot be stopped. But what if there was an actual box, passed down through the ages, that contained all the evils of mankind? That’s the idea behind PANDORA.
Since the book centers around this legend, I decided to delve deeper into the bowels of Greek mythology to create the eerie, supernatural world hovering beneath the surface of the town.
I researched the genealogy of daemons, which are personifications of otherwise lifeless entities like night, sleep, madness, and even death. Nyx, born of Chaos, is the mother of all manner of dark creatures. You might find some of them lurking in the corners of the pages as you read PANDORA. In fact, all the elements of Greek mythology you’ll find in the book are rather sinister.
For instance, somewhere in the Greek underworld are two gates: one made of ivory, and the other of horn. The Gate of Horn produces true dreams, while the Gate of Ivory generates false ones. My interpretation of “false dreams” includes nightmares, which play a significant role in the book—especially with the character of Ben, who has been plagued by nightmares throughout his life. The Ivory Gate becomes important as we trace the ancient history of the box back to its distant origin.
The final bit of Greek mythology in PANDORA involves the creature that appears again and again: the fanged, blank-eyed woman graces the cover of the book, but you’ll have to read it to find out just who, or what, she is…
If you want to read it, why not get yourself a free e-book copy right now? First person to correctly answer this trivia question can get either a PDF or ePub version:
After Pandora opened the box in the Greek myth, what one thing was left inside?
Comment below with your answer, e-mail, and preferred e-book format. First person with the correct answer wins! And don’t forget to check out the big contest where you can win the Pandora prize pack over at axelhowerton.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stop by Joanna's page at http://joannaparypinski.com/ to read more about her latest book, PANDORA, and be sure to enter her contests. Good luck!
PANDORA by Joanna ParypinskiThere’s something in the basement of Maria’s new house—something dark and primeval that made the previous owner commit suicide. It has infected the town of Sickle Falls, giving its inhabitants nightmares of a dark, fanged spirit that thirsts for blood. When Maria finds a mysterious ivory box buried in the bowels of her house, she must unearth its secrets before whatever is inside escapes and destroys them all. Available at:
DAMNATION BOOKS
AMAZON.COM
BARNES&NOBLE.COM
Always have been. Since junior high, I've been fascinated by the mythology of the ancient world...Roman, Nordic, Persian, Egyptian...and Greek. Definitely Greek. They had the coolest legends. When the rest of my friends were reading Judy Blume, I had my nose stuck in an encyclopedia.
(It may be hereditary, too, as my eleven-year-old son has a real thing for Greek mythology. Or...maybe it's Rick Riordan's fault. *shrug* He's even trying to learn how to read Greek. Good luck, kiddo.)I'm not the only one fascinated by the realms of the gods and their cursed minions. One of my author friends, Joanna Parypinski, is just as much of a Greek geek as I am. She's proud to announce the release of her novel PANDORA.
Yep...that Pandora.
Joanna is gracious enough to stop by and share a guest post on the wonderful world of gorgons and gods...specifically, on the myth of Pandora and her infamous box. Read on...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Long ago, in an ancient and magical world of gods and demons, Zeus ordered Hephaestus to create the first woman. The gods gifted her with clothes, beauty, and speech, and they called her Pandora. She was given a beautiful container and told not to open it, but naturally, her curiosity overwhelmed her. When she opened the box, all the evil trapped within it escaped and spread across the Earth.
The legend of Pandora is an iconic one used time and again in books, movies, television, and music—mainly as a cautionary tale. The idea of opening Pandora’s Box is now synonymous with creating some sort of evil that cannot be stopped. But what if there was an actual box, passed down through the ages, that contained all the evils of mankind? That’s the idea behind PANDORA.
Since the book centers around this legend, I decided to delve deeper into the bowels of Greek mythology to create the eerie, supernatural world hovering beneath the surface of the town.
I researched the genealogy of daemons, which are personifications of otherwise lifeless entities like night, sleep, madness, and even death. Nyx, born of Chaos, is the mother of all manner of dark creatures. You might find some of them lurking in the corners of the pages as you read PANDORA. In fact, all the elements of Greek mythology you’ll find in the book are rather sinister.
For instance, somewhere in the Greek underworld are two gates: one made of ivory, and the other of horn. The Gate of Horn produces true dreams, while the Gate of Ivory generates false ones. My interpretation of “false dreams” includes nightmares, which play a significant role in the book—especially with the character of Ben, who has been plagued by nightmares throughout his life. The Ivory Gate becomes important as we trace the ancient history of the box back to its distant origin.
The final bit of Greek mythology in PANDORA involves the creature that appears again and again: the fanged, blank-eyed woman graces the cover of the book, but you’ll have to read it to find out just who, or what, she is…
If you want to read it, why not get yourself a free e-book copy right now? First person to correctly answer this trivia question can get either a PDF or ePub version:
After Pandora opened the box in the Greek myth, what one thing was left inside?
Comment below with your answer, e-mail, and preferred e-book format. First person with the correct answer wins! And don’t forget to check out the big contest where you can win the Pandora prize pack over at axelhowerton.com.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stop by Joanna's page at http://joannaparypinski.com/ to read more about her latest book, PANDORA, and be sure to enter her contests. Good luck!
PANDORA by Joanna ParypinskiThere’s something in the basement of Maria’s new house—something dark and primeval that made the previous owner commit suicide. It has infected the town of Sickle Falls, giving its inhabitants nightmares of a dark, fanged spirit that thirsts for blood. When Maria finds a mysterious ivory box buried in the bowels of her house, she must unearth its secrets before whatever is inside escapes and destroys them all. Available at:
DAMNATION BOOKS
AMAZON.COM
BARNES&NOBLE.COM
September 24, 2012
On The QueryTracker Blog: Write Tighter, Write Smarter
I'm a homeschooled writer--someone who picked up the pen as a hobby and decided to put serious dedication into writing stories worth reading. It was one thing to write for myself--but another thing altogether to risk letting the cruel, cruel world peek into my notebooks where lay bare the strands of my soul. (Ok, a little melodrama there--but you know what I mean.)
Along my journey to better craft, I picked up loads of tips on how to improve the mechanics of my writing. Without realizing it, I began to write smarter because I wrote tighter. Of course, I was learning as I went--and applied most of my new skills through editing.
Editing is a technique that should always be done in layers--sentence, paragraph, scene, and story. You can tighten your writing at each of these layers, resulting in better craft and a better story....
Read more on the Query Tracker Blog:
QueryTracker Blog: Write Tighter, Write Smarter:
Along my journey to better craft, I picked up loads of tips on how to improve the mechanics of my writing. Without realizing it, I began to write smarter because I wrote tighter. Of course, I was learning as I went--and applied most of my new skills through editing.
Editing is a technique that should always be done in layers--sentence, paragraph, scene, and story. You can tighten your writing at each of these layers, resulting in better craft and a better story....
Read more on the Query Tracker Blog:
QueryTracker Blog: Write Tighter, Write Smarter:
September 3, 2012
On the QueryTracker Blog: Those Bad, Bad Boys
I've always been a fool for the bad boys.
Junior high was a total mess...and, as I grew, things didn't get much better. That's because, instead of tough guys with cigarettes, I discovered an entire new realm of bad boys: the villains of fantasy fiction.
I like my villains the same way I like my algorithms: complex. I want to know everything about them--and not just what the plot demands. I want to see their supressed feelings, their moments of hesitation, their flaws.
Show me everything and I'll read that book straight through because I won't be able to put it down.
QueryTracker Blog: Villains: The Guys You Love To Hate :
You might think I should be the last person to write about creating your book's villain…because sometimes, I root for the bad guy.
However, that's the precise reason I'm writing on this topic.
Before you assume I'm a bad guy myself, let me explain...
Read more of Villains: The Guys You Love To Hate over at the Query Tracker Blog.
Junior high was a total mess...and, as I grew, things didn't get much better. That's because, instead of tough guys with cigarettes, I discovered an entire new realm of bad boys: the villains of fantasy fiction.
I like my villains the same way I like my algorithms: complex. I want to know everything about them--and not just what the plot demands. I want to see their supressed feelings, their moments of hesitation, their flaws.
Show me everything and I'll read that book straight through because I won't be able to put it down.
QueryTracker Blog: Villains: The Guys You Love To Hate :
You might think I should be the last person to write about creating your book's villain…because sometimes, I root for the bad guy.
However, that's the precise reason I'm writing on this topic.
Before you assume I'm a bad guy myself, let me explain...
Read more of Villains: The Guys You Love To Hate over at the Query Tracker Blog.
August 30, 2012
The Bloggy Awards...Show Some Love!
Book lovers, make yourselves heard--it's the Bloggy Awards!
The purpose of the Bloggy Awards is to spread blogger love and recognize some of the most amazing blogs out there.
Voting has commenced in the 2013 Bloggy Awards...if you haven't already voted, I'd like to share some of my favorite blogs who have been nominated.
GraveTells: nominated in several categories. I love GraveTells because, not only is it a GORGEOUS blog, it's also one of the blogs that really helped to promote my debut urban fantasy, BLEEDING HEARTS. Click here to view their blog and click here to see some of the categories in which they've been nominated.
Mind Reader Blog: Best Design. If you haven't visited the Mind Reader blog, you are missing out on a visual treat. I love the look of the banner and the rest of the blog. The girls behind the blog are rockin' chicks who put a lot of soul into everything they do. Click here to see the blog and click here to see the category.
Several reviews of Bleeding Hearts made the nominations, too--thanks to my readers who sent in their favorites. Click here to vote in the Best Paranormal Review and pick the BH review that most tickled your heart.
Thanks for dropping by the Bloggy Award page to vote. These and so many other fantastic blogs deserve a little recognition for their devotion to sharing great books with readers like us.
You just might find new blogs to love and follow. I know I did.
Cheers!
The purpose of the Bloggy Awards is to spread blogger love and recognize some of the most amazing blogs out there.Voting has commenced in the 2013 Bloggy Awards...if you haven't already voted, I'd like to share some of my favorite blogs who have been nominated.
GraveTells: nominated in several categories. I love GraveTells because, not only is it a GORGEOUS blog, it's also one of the blogs that really helped to promote my debut urban fantasy, BLEEDING HEARTS. Click here to view their blog and click here to see some of the categories in which they've been nominated.
Mind Reader Blog: Best Design. If you haven't visited the Mind Reader blog, you are missing out on a visual treat. I love the look of the banner and the rest of the blog. The girls behind the blog are rockin' chicks who put a lot of soul into everything they do. Click here to see the blog and click here to see the category.
Several reviews of Bleeding Hearts made the nominations, too--thanks to my readers who sent in their favorites. Click here to vote in the Best Paranormal Review and pick the BH review that most tickled your heart.Thanks for dropping by the Bloggy Award page to vote. These and so many other fantastic blogs deserve a little recognition for their devotion to sharing great books with readers like us.
You just might find new blogs to love and follow. I know I did.
Cheers!
August 28, 2012
Bleeding Hearts Available for Read 2 Review on Goodreads
Are you a member of
Goodreads
? How about the
Paranormal and Horror Lovers group
?
You are? Awesome! That means that, not only will I commend you on your fine taste, I'll also remind you that Bleeding Hearts is now up for Read 2 Review on Sept 1.
The Read 2 Review program--or R2R--encourages authors and readers to connect and make each other happy. Authors offer 5-10 copies of their book to readers who, in turn, post an honest review.
Readers get free books. Authors get feedback. R2R equals win-win. :)
Need some links?
Goodreads is here.
The Paranormal and Horror Lovers group is here.
The sign-up thread for my book is here.
More about the Goodread group Paranormal and Horror Lovers:
You are? Awesome! That means that, not only will I commend you on your fine taste, I'll also remind you that Bleeding Hearts is now up for Read 2 Review on Sept 1.The Read 2 Review program--or R2R--encourages authors and readers to connect and make each other happy. Authors offer 5-10 copies of their book to readers who, in turn, post an honest review.
Readers get free books. Authors get feedback. R2R equals win-win. :)
Need some links?
Goodreads is here.
The Paranormal and Horror Lovers group is here.
The sign-up thread for my book is here.
More about the Goodread group Paranormal and Horror Lovers:
This is a group focused on sharing the passion we all have for the paranormal, horror and fantasy genre. My aim is to have the spotlight on indie Authors and for them to be able to connect with readers. Also you can find us on facebook (here)
If you are a reader there is still lots for you, I promise! There are group contests, book of the month, games, heaps of fun stuff.Hope to see you all on Goodreads soon...
August 15, 2012
Versatile Blogger Award Nominations!
This week, I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Lynn Thompson.
I've seen a lot of great blogs that are "proudly award free" but I am happy to say I am not one of them. :) Seriously. I am a contest junkie and there is nothing I love more than putting a shiny badge up. See my GraveTells Top Reviewer Pick on the side bar? I LOVE THAT THING. :)
And it's funny because I am not a competitive person. Not one bit. I just love, love, love shiny things and so I pursue them recklessly.
This nomination really floored me--I never expected something like this. It makes me feel like there is a purpose to blogging--not just to make announcements or promote ideas or products. There was a connection made--a connection between writer and reader and that's what validates me. That is all any writer craves.
Thank you again, Lynn, for this honor...I can't wait to put the SHININESS up on the sidebar. Thank you for including me in this wonderful group of bloggers! Tanto amore!
Now, in the great tradition of the Versatile Blogger Award, here are seven things about myself.
Take a moment to check out Lynn's blog and the others that have been nominated.
Cheers, all!
I've seen a lot of great blogs that are "proudly award free" but I am happy to say I am not one of them. :) Seriously. I am a contest junkie and there is nothing I love more than putting a shiny badge up. See my GraveTells Top Reviewer Pick on the side bar? I LOVE THAT THING. :)
And it's funny because I am not a competitive person. Not one bit. I just love, love, love shiny things and so I pursue them recklessly.
This nomination really floored me--I never expected something like this. It makes me feel like there is a purpose to blogging--not just to make announcements or promote ideas or products. There was a connection made--a connection between writer and reader and that's what validates me. That is all any writer craves.
Thank you again, Lynn, for this honor...I can't wait to put the SHININESS up on the sidebar. Thank you for including me in this wonderful group of bloggers! Tanto amore!
Now, in the great tradition of the Versatile Blogger Award, here are seven things about myself.
Music is my muse. I am inspired by the emotional tones of melodies, by misheard lyrics, by the timber of voices. I'm not just a hard rock girl--although I recently attended the Mayhem Festival (the only non-tattooed person there) I sang a Jackson Browne tune on my way back to the car. I don't think the roadies who were breaking down the second stage really got it.
I practice full-time retail pharmacy and it's my favorite time of the year--FLU SHOT SEASON! I love giving immunizations because I am a very bossy person...I'm not just telling you to stay healthy; I am sticking a needle in you and injecting immunity into you so you don't have a choice but to stay healthy. :)
I write with thick black gel pens and I edit in pixels.
I broke my toe last month when 99% of my body ran through a doorway. My right baby toe is the angry 1% and likes to thump into every object possible. Remember the 1%!
I am a cat person who betrays myself by living with a German Shepherd.
Wednesday is my favorite day of the week. Not only does it have the KEWLEST Spanish name, it's also the day the Syfy channel runs Ghost Hunters marathons. OMG! Infrared cameras and EVPs! Squee!and finally...
I am happy and at home in my skin. Writing has helped me connect to my missing pieces and it's what brings me together as a whole.Thank you again for this honor...and I'll be spreading the joy of it. Another rule of the Versatile Blogger Award is that we nominate other blogs for the award...so I've got lots of joy to spread!
Take a moment to check out Lynn's blog and the others that have been nominated.
Cheers, all!
