500 Posts! Week-long Contest!
ive Hundred Posts! I can't believe it's been that long, and I wouldn't even have noticed, if Zan Marie hadn't also been celebrating a milestone this past week.Prize rules are very simple - I'll do a prize draw every day that this post is up, counting those who have commented that day. So commenting each day gets you into a new draw! Then I'll do an overall draw as well, with every name, at the end of the week. Links to your blog and to Facebook will earn an extra draw in the overall (but please let me know in the comments that you've done it. Also, if you Tweet, please link to Facebook as I don't Tweet - yet).
So here goes. I've done a recap of some of my odd/interesting/weird/silly posts from the start of the blog, back in 2007, to now:
In the beginning...
Here's me at the very start, so simplistic!
Here's the blog name explained, and how I started writing. Leading to... a story I wrote when I was 12.
My favourite pen! Also, why I write longhand.
I've been lamenting the fact that I don't have a story set in Wales for a long long time.
There's always my abject ignorance when it comes to flora.
And some fun:
I need an intern!
The longest sentence I can write using World Wide Words' weird words.
A limerick about me.
The Face of A Lion, my MG
Seeking a title for Austin's story
Still seeking a title
Found a title for Austin's story!
Explaining the title, The Face of A Lion
Naming characters part I and naming characters part II
Slow work on The Face of A Lion
In which I find a photo of Austin!
A meme on Austin
The Face of A Lion is complete!
Out of the Water, my historical romance
Oh! I thought I'd started her story in the summer of 2009, but look, it was earlier than that! I have on record almost the exact moment when Rosa came into my head!
And here's me finally getting some research done
One year on, I hard hardly learned anything about her
Look! An outtake! This scene isn't even in the novel anymore.
Isabella and Ferdinand (the pub where I took this photo has now been demolished. Oh, how I miss the trivia nights!)
Four months later, I'd only achieved 10,000 words more
A meme about Rosa
And we have a title!
That's when things began to heat up...
The writers' houseparty that started it all
Outtakes from Rosa and the Earl of Rochester's romance
Some inspirational images, here, here, and here, as well as fooling around with old masters, and more fun with Picasa
What is a houseparty, anyway? Guest posting at Kait Nolan's, with an explanation
All houseparties all the time
Party like its 1493
Would you like to travel in time to...
I'm in Constantinople
Constantinople houseparty in figures
A love letter to Lord Rochester
Out of the Water 2010 year end look back
Research and accountability
Learning the oddest things while reading – not even doing research
Learning the oddest things II – while doing research ("Joanna Bourne's hilarious comment about Tolkien"?? What does that refer to??)
More research weirdness, unusual research topics, and researching historicals
Who remembers Sven?
The beginning of A Round of Words in 80 Days
An October in Istanbul (also the start of Mission: Accountability)
Promoting others
Carol Spradling releases her first book!
Joanna Bourne is the greatest!
Scholastic's Dear Canada series
Helene Boudreau's Acadian Star is released!
Books by members of the Compuserve Books and Writers' Community!
Zan Marie Steadham is nominated for an award!
Promoting myself, and learning from others
I'm on Evil Editor!
Critique of the first page of The Face of A Lion by Roni!
Fifteen minutes of fame for The Face of A Lion!
Out of the Water chapter critique at Clarissa's!
Canadian musicians and what they read
Vince Ditrich (Spirit of the West)'s picks!
Me on Nathan Bransford's blog
Here's my paragraph
Comment number 543
Be an agent for a day
Be an agent for a day continues
Now it can be revealed... I was query 43
Postcards from Jill Murray and Tessa!
I host a contest featuring Jo Bourne's The Forbidden Rose
I host a contest to thank my 100 followers!
Requiescat in pace
Peg Bracken
Pauline Baynes
Norma Fox Mazer
J D Salinger
Alan Sillitoe
Brian Jacques
Some more fun
My first cat-related post
Things to do in Istanbul on a weekend (also the oldest saved email I have)
The Book Buying Ban!
One night I drempt that I was a snail...
Wordle for me, wordle for the blog
Dr Horrible!
Jamie and Claire WC signs at the pub
All Agatha Christie all the time
Eddie Izzard's Death Star Canteen
Why Tahereh Mafi should read The Lord of the Rings
HMS Sofa
If your desk could talk
Quoting Nora Ephron and Somerset Maugham and C S Lewis and Dorothy Sayers and Mark Twain
Can you identify this bottle?
Can you identify this item/tool/instrument?
Books I've read and reviews
Finally starting to keep track of the books I read
Still tracking, plus a review of Ariana Franklin's Mistress of the Art of Death
A review of Diana Gabaldon's Brotherhood of the Blade
A review of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera
A review of D H Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover
A review of Marsha Moore's 24 Hours London
A review of Nicky Schmidt's Naked in Knightsbridge (and here also)
A review of Muriel Barbery's The Elegance of the Hedgehog
A review of Kait Nolan's Forsaken by Shadow
A review of Susan Bischoff's Hush Money
A review of Marte Brengle's Closed Circuit
A review of Linda Gerber's Trance
Authors from my neighbourhood!
A review of Alan Silberberg's Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze
Dear Lucky Agent contest and another Dear Lucky Agent contest
A review of Regina Brooks' Writing Great Books for Young Adults
A review of Kait Nolan's Devil's Eye
A review of Jill Murray's Break on Through
Congratulations to Talli Roland on The Hating Game and Helene Boudreau on Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings
A review of Kate Kaynak's Legacy
A review of Deborah Kerbel's Lure
A link to the 100 Romances Project, where I have a number of reviews
A review of Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key
A review of Steve Fuller's The Sickness
A review of Lisa Hendrix's Immortal Champion
Books read in 2008, 2008 addendum, 2008 addendum II, 2009, 2009 addendum, and 2010
The Whisky Trench Riders' music
Canadianthem
Driftin'
And that's my nearly four years of blogging! Thank you to everyone that's been part of the journey!
Comments
Hey, I skimmed through some of your links and I'm fascinated with the start of Out of the Water. I've always wondered what kind of process a novel goes through as it forms from idea to, you know, words on paper. [g]
I've been wondering -- did you start out blogging about just your writing and such? I have this inkling I should start a blog for challenges and things, but I dunno, I'm a little intimidated by all these writers blogging about Really Important/Relevant Craft Stuff and...then there's me, putzing about with words, over there in the corner...[g]
Linked ya on Facebook, by the way. :-)
What an amazing bunch of links.
You have been very busy
Hope your writing is going like a dream!
Thanks for calling by our new romantic venture.
Romantic Friday Writers - first challenge - Dire Moments
So, yea, book giveaway for each day of comments (7, 8, and 9 May count as one day, then Monday to Friday are separate days) featuring the winner's choice of books from the above list of books reviewed.
Then the overall prize draw is for 20$ at Amazon or Paypal, if the winner would like to support an independent books seller instead.
Woo!
When I started the blog I was a teensy bit random, but realised quickly enough that I'd better leave the cats and knitting off and focus on writing instead [g]
It took me a while to learn how to connect with other bloggers, and devote time to building up a following.
And I'm still intimidated by authors who do great posts on craft and stuff! I feel like it's stuff I know, or at least can see, but I can't quite describe it to others. So I link to the ones I really agree with [g]
Thanks Trisha! Nothing like looking back, is there? I used to get excited if I got just one comment...
Thank you Theresa! I kept thinking I couldn't do book reviews on a regular basis - how did I rack up so many without even noticing?
Thank you Al!
Thanks Denise! I'm still hoping to making time to participate in the Romantic Friday writers, but might have to hold off till this current round of edits is done...
Thank you Zan Marie! I would have missed it completely if not for you :-)
Eddie Izzard.....delivering humor to people with intelligence. Divine!
~ Nadja
I'm doing Facebook too, but I just can't get enthusiastic about Twitter. I like to be able to write more than the allotted words on Twitter. The blog is still my favorite, though I wish Blogger had a comments gadget like WordPress has where you can reply directly under each comment. It would make it for easier dialoguing. Maybe I'll query them about it.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I love seeing your smiling face. I'm glad you have so many ideas mulling about in your head. That gives you much to work with in the weeks, months, years ahead of you. I see from the list on your sidebar how many ideas have come to fruition or are in draft form. The titles are all intriguing. I hope I get to read some if not all of them sometime!!
Ann Best, Memoir Author
I checked out all your reviews, and hope to add some to my TBR list!
Thanks for posting.
Good luck with the next 500 posts!
Thanks Su!
Thank you Nadja - I didn't realised how much I actually had to look back on!
Thanks Claudia - I was happy to see that it's actually grown a little, from my sillier posts at the start
Thank so much for coming by Ann and for all your comments. I can't get into Twitter yet as I'm afraid it'll absorb what little time I have to write and edit (when I tear myself off Facebook). Blogging seems to be the best platform so far, for mixing friendliness, contests, blogfests, challenges, and all the other goodies we have going on!
Thanks Nas! I hadn't realised how many reviews I'd managed to do, and I've even got a few more to add!
Thanks so much Talli, Vicki and Carolyn!
Thank you Susan! I was funny back then, posting in random bursts with no schedule and hardly making the effort to reach out to others - I'm so glad to be part of a wider community now!
My first post was also simplistic.
Carrie
Karen
Hugs,
Rach