You Up For Bloffee? It's Been a While...

It’s been awhile since I hosted a Friday MorningFollower’s Bloffee.  But with this week’s early morning shopping sprees- trying to get those Christmas gifts squared away while they’re still on the shelves- I definitely need to take a few minutes for a nice, hot, sit-down cup of bloffee.

All you need to do to participate is: 1. Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.(Today I’ve started out with pancakes and syrup.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know on WEDNESDAY’s (so many awesome commenters in there that I haven’t gotten to get back to yet) comments section and check out their blog!  Voila! a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

How are you guys about Christmas shopping?  Do you have it done by the end of November?  Or do you find yourself going out the day before Christmas Eve in search of those last minute gifts?


Hope you all have a great weekend!


*CQG*

Failure, Finds, and Follower's Bloffee

Well, the first week of Nanowrimo is already half over and I have written a total of *drumroll please*:

0 words

I know.  This isn’t looking good so far.  In my defence, I did sit down and outline the first three chapters Tuesday.  But since then, I haven’t had any writing time and the scariest thing of all (and my biggest hurdle to overcome) is that it usually takes me weeks to get down the first chapter (see my post on the first chapter hokey pokey)- it’s where I’m meeting my characters and setting for the first time – setting the foundations and I’m one of those writers who just can’t seem to go on until it’s ‘just right’.  Once the first chapter is down though- things usually flow a lot faster.  But I’m definitely starting to feel as though I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.

It doesn’t help that I’ve recently discovered (been held hostage by) the Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs.  I could eat these books for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. – They remind me a little of the Sookie Stackhouse series but with werewolves and a much less girly protagonist. 

Now on to a little bloffee.  I could use at least two cups this morning.

All you need to participate in our usual Friday Morning Follower’s Bloffee is:

1.  Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.  (Today I have black coffee with sugar and some 'pains au chocolats' already laid out.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know in the comments section and check out their blog!  Voila- a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime, I should be around later on this morning to respond to comments and visit.  Tell me- any recurring themes you noticed in blogland this week?  Any ‘finds’ or books you couldn’t put down?

I hope you all have a great weekend!

*CQG*

Bloffee. Stat.

To anyone who isn’t familiar with Friday MorningFollower’s Bloffee- welcome!  Hope you’ve brought your appetite.  If not, we’ve got what you need to bring you back to your bright-eyed, bushy-tailed selves.

All you need to do to participate is: 1.  Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.  (Today I’ve started out with some pumkin spice coffee sent fromt the U.S. by my mother dearest.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know in the comments section and check out their blog!  Voila- a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime- this week has been absolutely crazy in KatieLand.  Oldest daughter had an asthma attack last weekend and was home from school.  I had another teaching seminar to go to Tuesday along with my new work schedule. I’ve been preparing Halloween with my classes and today I’m doing workshops at my daughter’s school.  And it’s also my middle child Julie’s birthday today.  6 old years:) 

The good news is, I finished and sent out my agent revisions this week! Can I get a collective ‘whew’!? *wipes brow*  I’m really happy with the final product and as I was reading through the manuscript one last time, it felt so much cleaner and more ‘living, breathing’ than it ever has before. Thanks so much to my beta readers and to everyone who's wished me luck! All that’s left to do now is wait and hope!

I’ve been trying to check out blogs during breaks on my phone but haven’t been able to comment. What have I missed in blogland this week? Any big posts I should know about?  Any noticed themes or trends?  What did you guys blog about?

Have a Cup of Bloffee and Pay It Forward...

Today I’m combining my usual Friday MorningFollower’s Bloffee with Alex and Matt’s Pay It Forward Blogfest!  To anyone who is new to the blog- all you have to do to participate in breakfast bloffee is:

1.  Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.  (Today I’ve started out with some coffee and a box of all-important wheaties.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know in the comments section and check out their blog!  Voila- a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime, I’m going to give you three blogs newly discovered by my creepy self:

One Little Spark- A Writer’s World by blogger CDMeetens. – I was immediately hooked by the flashy but classy deco and the straight up posts about writing and publishing.  The train poem was totally adorable too!  Check ‘em out!

Rebecca Mahoney- Writer  Becca is a ‘twenty something assistant extraordinaire with a  love of good food, animated films, and budget-busting fashion. I’m an aspiring YA author, and I write fantasy, mystery, and horror- sometimes a mix of all three!’ – There’s nothing I enjoy more than meeting aspiring YA authors like myself.  We’re all in the same boat!

Crystal’s A Pistol – Well written and introspective posts on life, love, and creativity!  Love this woman’s energy!

Hope you guys enjoy the blogfest and bloffee!  Have a great weekend!

*CQG*

Useless Without My Bloffee...

Welcome everybody to Friday Morning Follower’s Bloffee!  -A way to meet new people and up your followers during your normal friday morning rituals.  Place your breakfast contribution on the counter and settle in!

 All you have to do to participate is 1.  Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.  (Today I’ve started out with coffee and some honey glazed croissants.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know in the comments section and check out their blog!  Voila- a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime I’ll be available for chat in the comments section. This week has been the first week in a long time where I couldn't participate in my usual blogging schedule so I've missed everything! :( 


Pretty please fill me in!- what did you guys blog about this week?  Have you noticed any major themes around the blogosphere?  And I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU for all the kind and encouraging comments I recieved about my 'news' in the post below.  I don't know where I'd be without the support of the blogging community.  Ya'll give me the warm & fuzzies:)

Have a great weekend everyone!


*CQG*

More Bloffee? Allow me...

Welcome everybody to Friday Morning Follower’sBloffee!  -A way to meet new people and up your followers during your normal friday morning rituals.  Place your breakfast contribution on the counter and settle in!

 All you have to do to participate is 1.  Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.  (Today I’ve started out with coffee and English muffins dripping with butter.  Mmm.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know in the comments section and check out their blog!  Voila- a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime I’ll be available for chat in the comments section.  The winner of this Banned Book Week’s novel ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is:  Jennifer Hillier!  Congrats Jennifer!  Please be sure to send your mailing address to katiemills18@hotmail.com.

In other news- what did you guys blog about this week?  I know one blog post that caught a lot of attention was the ebookexperiment by Shelli Johannes Wells. – thus leading me to this week’s topic of bloffee conversation:  Have you guys noticed a definite shift in mentality when it comes to self ebook publishing these last few months?  I know in my mind, self publishing has almost completely lost its taboo connotations.  And I think it can definitely work out in some author’s favor if the circumstances are right.  To be truthful, after years spent in the query trenches, self publishing is looking very tempting and I’m definitely gathering information and keeping an eye on Shelli’s ebook experiment. 

That said- I have to wonder WHY traditional and self publishing are being compared like they’re in some kind of competition. Why must one win the other over?   Isn’t there room for both?

Any other big themes you noticed around the blogosphere this week?  Be sure to pass the orange juice and have a great weekend everyone!:)

*CQG*

Grab Some Bloffee and Pull Up A Chair

Welcome everybody to Friday Morning Follower’sBloffee!  -A way to meet new people and up your followers during your normal friday morning rituals.  Place your breakfast contribution on the counter and settle in!

 All you have to do to participate is 1.  Comment. 

2. Tell me what you’ve brought for morning bloffee.  (Today I’ve started out with a pot of coffee and a carton of virtual krispy cream donuts because in real life I only get to taste one once every three years or so...which is probably best for my waist line.) 

3. Click on someone you don’t know in the comments section and check out their blog!  Voila- a new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime I’ll be hanging around for chat in the comments (which I hardly ever do) so feel free to check back if you’ve left a question or comment.  Tell me- what did you blog about this week and did you notice any big themes going on in the blogging world?  I noticed quite a few posts about online personality versus real life personality.  Do you think you change while blogging in order to put your best face forward?  I also noticed quite a few posts about knowing when to move on in the querying process, including mine.  Thanks so much to all who commented!  The thing I learned this week is that it’s important to keep going no matter what.  -Keep querying the project you’re most excited about at the moment!  Any other blog posts that really stuck with you this week I should know about? 

Enjoy the food and conversation and have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Morning Follower's Bloffee

Between KarenG’s labor day BBQ and Talli Roland’s book launch websplash I’ve met so many amazing bloggers in such a short time.  I had almost forgotten how much fun it is to visit others, discover new people and learn about who they are and what they stand for.  As Matt McNash pointed out in his latest posts, following and being followed (as creepy as this sounds) is a part of what makes a successful blogger and also a part of what makes blogging so much fun!

 So I’ve decided to dedicate Fridays to meet’n’greeting.  I’ll be hosting Friday Morning Follower’s Bloffee on Friday mornings.  So far I’ve got the coffee and the cinnamon rolls.  All you need to do is 1. comment,- 2. let me know what you’ve brought to Friday Morning Bloffee (hot chocolate? Hash browns?  Toast? O.J.?).  3. Find someone in the comments who you don’t know, click and check out their blog!  Voila!  A new friend and potential follower connection has been made!

In the meantime I’m going to share a couple of awesome blogs I’ve recently discovered:

Team Un-Pubbed –I was completely won over by her helpful and spunky personality! Liz just released a self-pubbed book entitled Double Dutch.

Anna Banks- her soon to be released book POSEIDON looks amazing!

Trisha Leaver- Really insightful and thought-provoking posts for writers

Audrey Allure- this fashionista’s photography features some drool worthy items and accessories

Hairnets & Hopes-  This blog combines two things I can’t live without- writing and food. Yum!

Hanna C. Howard- Because her profile pic looks so open and friendly I always smile when I see it

Trisha Wolfe- You have GOT to see the cover she did for her upcoming release ‘Unveiled’!  It totally blew my mind.

Abby from Something to Write About- great writer’s blog where she offers up unique points for debate and discussion!

Word + Stuff- such a fun and artistic blog!

Gina Dickerson-  I love Gina in her blog header.  She looks like that bad girl you want to be friends with on the playground so nobody will threaten to beat you up.

Jamie Manning- Writer’s Write Right? – Because his blogged managed to crack me up in the first ten seconds.

There you have it!  Meet, Greet, and Eat some breakfast with your bloffee!!  Have a great weekend everyone!

Friday Morning Bloffee

If you're looking for me, I'm over at ever-hilarious Bru's (February Grace's) blog 'Pitch Slapped'. 


She asked to interview me for her aspiring writers column and her questions stripped me bare. (Nothing dirty.  It's just an expression people.)  So if you wanna find out a little more about...me (wow, that didn't sound narcissistic at. all.) - Come on over and join us for some Friday Morning Bloffee!  


Here's wishing you all a frickin fant-abulous weekend!  
*CQG*

Friday's Video Battle and Bloffee

 
 IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED!

Entries will be judged down to the final five by the 3CriticsClub and then posted back up on my blog Wednesday and Thursday -June 2nd & 3rd.  I'll have a poll up so that everyone can vote for thier favorite Query Spoof and winners will be announced Friday morning- June 4th.

This morning I'll be having bloffee at Matt Rush's blog so I can check out his interview with the marvelous Elana Johnson.  She'll be sharing the query letter that led her to her agent and BOOK DEAL!  Be there or be square.


Now for Friday's Video Battle sponsored by the lovely Jen from Unedited.  Be sure to check out the other Battle Bombshells listed below.  This weeks battle is Tube Socks vs. Ankle Socks.  Enjoy!

Other Battle Bombshells:
The Alliterative Allomorph (Jessica) 
The Misadventures in Candyland (Candace) 

T.J. Carson's Writing Endeavors (Sarah)
 Shannon McMahon 
Open a Window (Rachel)
 Susan Fields 

Pinches of Madness (Clara)
 Unedited (Jen)