Tia Silverthorne Bach's Blog, page 112

Winner of our Blogathon Comment Contest

The very first day of Blogathon we announced a giveaway: the person who commented the most on our blog during the month of May would receive a special prize. Congratulations to Lisa Carter! If you love an interesting perspecitve and/or are interested in literary translation, please check her out. She also guest posted here in May, a wonderful piece about Shameless Self-Promotion.

A copy of Depression Cookies is on its way to Ontario, Canada. She is the first person to get a copy of our book with the Finalist sticker on it.


Thanks to Lisa and everyone else who commented in May. You've really encouraged us to keep at it!

Friday Feature: My Favorite Thing I Read this Week and Why

Upon initial reflection, my favorite thing to read this week was my calendar and the date May 31st . . . end of Blogathon. But I miss it! The few days I took off from blogging felt wrong. Thanks to all the bloggers I met throughout May, I know the blog's readership will grow if I am consistent and write interesting posts. So I'm going to trod along.

Mom and I both enjoyed our Friday Feature (established for the Blogathon), so we are going to stick with it. This week, my choice was simple. My favorite thing I read this week was the "You've reached the Summit" sign at my Bolder Boulder 10K race. I knew at that point it was all downhill.

Photo courtesy of the Bolder Boulder 10K website

See I now live in the Land of Sissies, at sea level in Maryland. Training at sea level for an altitude race is not the smartest thing I've ever done. But I did it!

Similarly, jumping into a Blogathon with a brand new blog was terrifying. I'm so glad I took the leap. I learned so much. My "summit" for this blog and my writing is nowhere in sight, and I'm thrilled to be taking the uphill. But, like my race, I can't do it without wonderful friends and supporters, so please keep visiting and commenting.

Are you pushing toward your summit?

Sprint to the Beginning

May 31st!!! We made it through 31 straight days of blogging, a challenge we accepted from Michelle Rafter's WordCount Blogathon. Michelle often referred to the task as a marathon (thus the term Blogathon), and I couldn't agree more.

My family lived in Superior, Colorado until November 2010 when we moved to Maryland for my husband's job. It was a sad day for all of us. We loved the community and beauty in Colorado. My oldest daughter was heading into fifth grade and had some opinions about leaving the friends she had been with since first grade. We made plans to come back Memorial Day weekend to visit with her graduating friends (all heading into middle school!) and to see our Colorado family. Bittersweet.

As part of our trip, I ran the Bolder Boulder 10K (along with 54,000 other people). I love this race and ran it three times when I lived here, but they went and changed the course for the first time in the race's thirty-two year history. For fun, they added more hills. Plus, I trained at sea level (people from CO love wearing t-shirts that say "Sea Level is for Sissies").

The Unversity of Colorado's Folsom Field (finish line)
I ran the race with two of my girlfriends, Kelly and Sara. They were wonderful running partners. When I said I needed to walk for a second to breathe, they were gracious knowing I was readjusting to altitude (the summit of the race was just shy of 6,000 feet above sea level). At the end, I was in desperate need of some Motrin, but felt exhilarated and proud.


Kelly Smith, Sara Jensen and me post 6.2 miles
This morning, I realized how much the race reminded me of this blogging adventure. There were moments where mentally I just had to push through and moments I found my stride and felt really good. In addition, I couldn't have made it to the finish without the encouragement of my new blogger friends and Michelle. Even though we cross the finish line today, I know it is only the beginning for this blog!

I already recapped what we learned during Blogathon, although I can't believe I forgot to mention Haiku Day. I dreaded the art of Haiku at first, but it ended up being my favorite Theme Day. Some highlights from our blog's May adventure:

* Guest Blogger, Eden Sterlington, on the Mother-Daughter Bond: simply beautiful and comment-neglected thanks to being my post during the Blogger shutdown.
* Ten Mistakes I Made in My Writing Career so you Don't Have to by Elaine Isaak: great speaker, great information. I included five mistakes I have made to date. I'm sure I'll need to update that before year-end.
* I am Woman, Hear me Roar, for Shoes?: The Chick Lit classification debate.
* Friday Feature: My Favorite Thing I Read this Week and Why: Mom's discovery of Muffin-top syndrome. Hilarious, yet disturbing. A new feature for our blog that Mom and I are both enjoying.
* Interviewing in Character: Krista Interviews Abby: Loved this exercise. A 13 year old character interviewing her mom. Too much fun (yet as the mother of a preteen, it was too close to home).
* What Most Southern Women Love about the "F" Word: Mom discusses the art of flirting (I know, that's not what I was expecting either).

What was your favorite part of May's Blogathon, either as a reader or participant?

Wordle, Wordle: We all Love Wordle

Another theme day to get us through thanks to Michelle Rafter of WordCount's Blogathon. The following image was created at Wordle using words from my blog posts. It's pretty cool!


A shout-out to my dear husband who figured out how to take the image from Wordle using Jing to my blog. He has so much more patience for technology than I do.

Looking at the words above, book beat out Kindle and you need love, wonder and allure to see, think and go. Happy Memorial Day to everyone, but especially our military and veterans.

Community and Knowledge Go Hand in Hand

When I committed to WordCount Blogathon's challenge to write a post-a-day-in-May, my goal was to focus on our blog and my writing. After two years of heavy writing for Depression Cookies and a cross-country move, I lost my energy. Now I feel renewed. Initially I was going to set a 500-word-a-day goal for writing starting in June, but now I know I can do much more. But this knowledge was only the tip of the iceberg. This is my feeble attempt to quantify what I've learned:* How to better define what I want our blog to be: our blog started as a way to promote and discuss our novel, Depression Cookies. Now, thanks to seeing so many wonderfully diverse blogs, I realize Mom and I have so much more to say. We are a mother-daughter team who wrote a mother-daughter book . . . there's a wealth of topics for us to cover.
* Respecting Copyrighted material: Don't get me wrong, I would never steal another's thoughts or hard work for my own use. Still, I didn't get the nuances of using images or "selected pieces" of blog posts. Now I do. When I wanted to pass along some great information from a discussion I attended, I contacted the speaker and asked if I could paraphrase what I learned. She was thrilled and I've formed a bond with her. I wouldn't have thought to contact her before. From PublicDomainPictures.Net* Simply ask: I never thought to do guest post exchanges and contact other people for help with my blog! I've found it only improves my blog to have others' thoughts and opinions featured, and I've been astounded at how many people are willing to do this if you just ask.

* Twitter: Before Blogathon, I had only dipped my toe into the pool of Twitter. Basically I signed up kicking and screaming. I'm still a Twitter-newbie, but I'm starting to appreciate what it has to offer.
* Links: It never dawned on me to put links within my posts. Such a rookie mistake.
* Community: I am a better blogger when surrounded by a community of bloggers. You get what you give. I'm updating my Blogs We Love sidebar come June 1 to reflect this new and growing community. I became a better mother when I surrounded myself with mothers, the same has been true of blogging.
Then there's the invaluable advice I've received on Feedburner, Google alerts, blog stats, freelance writing, writing techniques and inspirations, and the list goes on and on.
Thank you Blogathon bloggers and our ring-leader, Michelle Rafter. Although it's been a crash course, I now have reliable sources to use as I continue to learn.
What in your life has been made better by community?

What Most Southern Women Love about the "F" Word!

Now that's a headliner! I bet I get a lot of reaction from this one. But we'll save that for the comment section. Here's the real story . . .I love the South−slower pace, warmer weather, friendly people and tall tales told from the coast to the mountains. The richness of the language could fill reams of binders for entertainment and future writing projects. But there is one area of Southern culture I find waning . . . it's the "F" word of the South−flirting!As a young girl, I watched my grandmother charm the britches off a grave digger. Okay, let me clarify this old saying of my grandmother's. Trust me that woman would come back from the grave to haunt me if I left this one unattended. This catchy little phrase of hers meant you had the wiles to charm anyone who wants to change. Now I know how comedians feel who realize no one got the joke and then had to explain the punch line. YIKES!My grandmother, Antho Marshall Greer LeMaire, knew the art of flirting. The looks that woman gave, especially when around a male audience, could curl your toes or embarrass the fool out of you. But even while turning red, I watched mesmerized by art in action. Those Silver Screen actresses had nothing on this lady. She mimicked and perfected the many nuances delightfully.Since returning to my home state of North Carolina, I am appalled at the lack of social flirting. Yes, my precious, there are many types we Southern women have achieved. And before I forget it, the other word Southern women love is the "P" word−Precious. Oh and there's the "D" word−Darling. Lastly, so we don't disparage anyone, we love the "GD" word, too−Gorgeous, Darling! It's just so delicious! I feel like a Designing Woman. Here's my homage to precious Dixie Carter!Back to flirting . . . I see plenty of seductive flirting. Walk down the hallways at any middle school or high school and you want to cringe. That's another kind of art all together which brings to mind all those images Mama said the devil would chew on till you went mad; so, we'll stop here.The third kind of flirting, courtship flirting, has flown out the door. Couples have completely forgotten it. I mean, why bother? Today everyone wants a quickie right now. Flirting takes time, energy and practice. And to my humble knowledge doesn't come on an IPhone, IPad or ITouch. You can't tweet it, text it or tweak it . . . well, you can vibrate it, can't you? Oh my.So what's wrong? Where's the playful flirtation. I do believe we are born with it. Look at the picture of my granddaughter, Reagan. It's a perfect example of flirting. We have it and anyone can do it. Flirting doesn't require age, beauty or personality type. Reagan
I grew up with the flirt girls. Examine these . . . Natalie Wood

Marilyn Monroe
Kim Novak
Now let's get down to the core of flirting. Here's your lesson of the day.1. It's all in the look: open your eyes, then slightly close them for that smoky effect. Once in a while, pout your lips, but don't overdo it. Oh, I forgot the shoulder image. Keep your right shoulder edged in slightly toward your chest and lower your chin. People love this one, makes them think you are truly engaged in whatever nonsense they are spouting.2. It's pulling out the deep down inside: irresistible humor, coy self-confidence, humbleness with intent (not the mushy kind), and a colorful spirit.3. Play it, Baby! Go for the fun; it's the core of flirtation. Draw out the best in someone. Everyone has a story. People need to express themselves. If you nod, it only encourages more. Be your gorgeous self!Now I know you are thinking, "What's in this for me?" Precious, everything is in it for you. Sweetness is the absolute nectar of divas, Southern or not. You might seem to be giving a lot, but darling, you are going to be the recipient of it all. People will seek you out, have you on every intended list and you will feel empowered. Happy Flirting!******Thank you Mom for this wonderful and thought-provoking post. As everyone can imagine, I was beyond terrified when Mom sent me an email asking if she could write a post on why Southern women love the "F" word! And a hint to non-Southerners, if someone in the South ever says "How Nice" it's translated into FU. Or at least that's what I've always been told! Come on, ladies. Tell us your favorite story where flirting made all the difference.

Friday Feature: My Favorite Thing I Read this Week and Why

As we were leaving an event in our neighborhood this week, my middle daughter, Tara, asked me, "Can you write a piece about the advantages of growing older? All I hear are negative remarks." She was right. All of us over 60 that greeted her were quite vocal when she asked how we were doing.  We gave it to her straight up, hurling our latest rash of medical problems and procedures without thinking how she would view the information.  While I didn't pay too much attention to the rhetoric at the time, I saw it later through her 35 year old eyes and the picture wasn't attractive. It certainly didn't give her warm fuzzy feelings about growing older. And, there's damage in that presentation. It made me ponder the many times I've heard our elderly residents say they hadn't seen their children and grandchildren in weeks, months and sometimes years. Last Friday, I visited the nursing home and saw only a handful of visitors. The picture was disturbing.When I got home, I rummaged through my files and found one I had put aside: a May 17, 2005 Family Circle article titled, "There's Still a Girl in There". I saved it because I wanted to remember what the beautiful ladies featured in the article said about the aging process. What I forgot, and many of us forget, was the overall message. For you younger folks : We older folks are at a juncture in our lives that is scary and hard to reconcile with. We forget you haven't been here. It's like telling a young girl about childbirth. It sounds scary, when in fact, it is beautiful.We remember all the hustle, bustle and life in your daily lives and we miss it. Oh we say we don't, but we do. We've replaced the joy of little ones with bridge and fall asleep if we sit for too long. And we hurt! The old adage is true: if it doesn't hurt, it doesn't work. So here's some things (paraphrased from the article) the seniors from Damariscotta, Maine wanted to tell the younger folks. I hope it will make us all, young and old alike, more tolerant of our specific places on this journey in life. 1. It's hard to admit we don't need help. You need to keep trying to talk to us. Be patient. We are working through our stubbornness just like you are with your children. We will eventually reconcile it all. If not, nudge us with more love. 2. We need time to adjust to change. All the things I used to do are getting harder. I have to let things go, and it's not easy. Give us time and be patient with us. We're trying. Respect our decisions, even if they aren't what you would do with your life. We are changing what we do to accommodate what we can do.3. Please don't talk down to us.  "Imagine living a long, rich, productive life only to be spoken to and treated condescendingly in old age by someone decades younger." It's like your 10 year old making you look foolish. Be patient. 4. Celebrate our life as seniors. We have many stories in our heart. Don't ask us how we feel, ask us about who we are, what our dreams are about and how we view life now, seeing it change and modify over many years. And listen. Make us a part of your life and become a part of ours. Sharing generationally allows us to stay connected and less misunderstood. What do you look forward to when you grow older?

Looking for a Good Read: Look No Further than The Blue Virgin

For those of you who don't know, I also do a book and movie review blog at Mom in Love with Fiction. I started this blog as my first foray into blogging. I'm an avid reader, so reviewing books was a natural progression. I also review books for Rebecca's Reads. Marni, or M. K. Graff, is a friend and writer's group cohort of my mother's. Mom featured Marni's co-authored Writing in a Changing World book on our Five Favorite Writing Books blog post. I have it in my pile of books and can't wait to read and review it at a later time. Most of my reading time has been spent perusing the wonderful Blogathon posts lately.Marni also sits on the Editorial Board of Bridal Path Press and reviews books at her AuntieMWrites blog. She is multi-talented, and I feel honored to have met her. I'm only beginning to pick her brain for information and hope she will guest blog here soon. The Blue Virgin is the first of M. K. Graff's Nora Tierney mysteries (and a little birdie told me she has written a second one due out late 2011 or early 2012). I was hooked from the beginning. Nora Tierney is an American in Oxford sorting out her life. She's pregnant and recently lost her fiancé, who she's not sure she even loved, in a plane crash. When her dear friend Val Rogan is suspected of killing her lover, Nora jumps head first into the investigation. The mysterious death of Bryn Wallace grabs you from the first page. I suspected many characters thanks to Graff's twists and turns, and I didn't guess the true killer until near the end, and even then I wasn't sure.  Detective Inspector Declan Barnes heads the investigation and leans toward Val in the beginning but has nagging feelings. And although Nora is closely guarded by friend and want-to-be lover, Simon, there's a pull toward the detective as well. I'm hoping we meet Nora's baby and find out more about her love life in Book 2.Graff does an excellent job maintaining a tight pace; she pulls the reader from page to page while also focusing on character development. You care about these people. After all, what's a good story if the characters aren't compelling? And it's a good who-done-it to boot.I really don't want to give too much away, but I recommend all mystery-lovers buy The Blue Virgin. You won't be sorry you did!

A Fantastic Dinner Party with Michelle Rafter as Host

I managed to somehow wrangle an invitation to a month-long dinner party with Michelle Rafter as host. That's how I feel about Blogathon. With the party coming to a close, I hope we'll stay in touch and keep supporting one another. I, for one, do not want to go back to my little pre-Blogathon blog world.

Although I couldn't possibly list ALL the blog posts I've enjoyed recently, I wanted to lift my glass to a few favorites:

BooksYALove: Katy presents "YA books beyond the bestsellers" and had an interesting take on this week's Theme Day with My Favorite Places to Write...About. I commend her for focusing on lesser known works!

RE | GROUP: Kriss, Ruth & Charlsie focus on topics to "help reinvent your professional self ... one week at a time". Their Get to Know Myers Briggs had me obsessing about my ENFJ "The Giver" profile.
wordsxo: Julia Munroe Martin's blog about "words, writing and life" inspired me with her Blog 101 celebrating her 101 posts. I loved looking back through her blog, and it gave me great ideas for future posts. Congrats Julia for 101+ posts!

Writing Pays: I was honored to have Nicky LaMarco guest post here. And I needed the inspiration provided by her Honor Your Vomit post this week. She graciously shares her knowledge about freelance writing day after day.

Lawthenticity Blog: Alison Law's posts have helped fill to overflowing my Blogathon Lessons notebook. This week's favorite was Five Great Social Media Marketing Books. Library, here I come!

The Billiegram: Billie Noakes has an uncanny ability to bring a smile to my face. I've loved so many of her stories, but Inch by Inch is a must-read.

A special birthday shout-out to Liz at Motherlogue ! May your birthday bring you many blessings and list-worthy adventures.

Party at my place June 1 and beyond!!

Bathtub, Bed, Desk, Outside & In a Car: What Could these Things Possibly have in Common?

Okay, get your mind out of the gutter. Today is a WordCount Blogathon Theme Day. First, let me say thank you to Michelle Rafter at Wordcount for helping ease the burden of daily blogging by giving us some Theme Days to consider. Today's theme is My Top Five Places to Write are . . .
1. My desk in the kitchen: I have my computer, great windows with light surrounding me, and food nearby . . . what more could I want? Might be problematic this summer, however, as my children feed their inner beasts roughly every 15 minutes.


2. The bathtub: I love hot water and bubbles. It relaxes me. Don't worry, I don't have my computer anywhere near, but I have a soggy little notebook and jot down ideas as they come to me.
3. My bed: Confession time: my 6 year old needs my help getting to sleep (sitting next to her and daring not to move is usually sufficient after 3 books). I sit in bed with pad and paper, and sometimes my laptop, and write. I did this the other night until midnight because I was so absorbed. I try not to overuse this method, as I do appreciate sleep.
4. Outside: Whether it's the park or out on my deck, nature and sunshine inspire me. However, bees do not, so I'm often at nature's mercy.
View in Yellowstone from our trip last year
Where I wish I could write outside
5. Sitting in a car: Usually I'm waiting to pick up children, but I hate wasted time and started keeping a notebook in the car. It has proven quite useful.
Where do you like to read or write? Where do you feel inspired?