We skipped February so it’s time for The Ooo Factor’s next installment of MarvelOoous Mashups. This month I’m including a few awards that my fellow bloggers so generously awarded me, as well as participating in the widely spread Lucky 7 Meme.
First up, a big HUGE thanks to Marcy Kennedy for awarding me the Liebster Award!
Liebster is the German word for beloved person. If anything, I have definitely developed a close friendship with Marcy, even though we’ve never met in real life. She is one of the most supportive writing friends a girl could have, and I look forward daily to her tweets, emails, posts, and smiles.
In turn, I award these great blogging friends with the Liebster Award: Amber West and Jen L. Kirchner. They’re my liebsters and excellent bloggers.
Jen has previously written a few great Vote Your Own Adventure blog series, but she’s now venturing out into the Sci-Fi world and provides great Gaming Reviews for Girls as well as Sci-Fi Pin Ups each month.
Amber, in addition to all of her blogging greatness, has started a new series of her own where she takes inspiration from her blog commenters to build the next portion of her story. Her tale has just begun, so be sure and stop by her blog to contribute to her Tell Me a Story series.
I’d also like to express a big HUGE thanks to Martine Svanevik for awarding me the Kreativ Blogger Award and Fallon Brown for the Versatile Blogger Award.
I’ve done this a few times, but still feel like I should share the love and award a few new bloggers with the same honor.
Let’s see….who’s Kreativ? Definitely Myndi Shafer. Myndi blogs about anything and everything, but my favorite series is her I am Beautiful posts where she features women’s beauty from the inside out.
Who’s deserving of the Versatile Blogger Award? Lydia Sharp of The Sharp Angle. Lydia blogs about everything from vivacious spring colors, to the writing craft, and in one of my favorite segments, she promotes other writers and their books out in the market today in Fresh Baked Books.
THANK YOU, everyone! Winning these awards for my posts means so very much to me, AND congratulations to the new recipients.
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In addition to these fabOoolous bloggers deserving of the awards, be sure to click on these sites featured in the March edition of MarvelOoous Mashups!
PART I: FabOoolous Writerly Posts
When writing, we’ve all heard to be careful with our use of flashbacks. Luckily, Lydia Sharp helps us along with her post: Good Flashbacks, Bad Flashbacks.
All writers waffle back and forth as to whether or not they should travel down the traditional publishing route, the indie publishing route, or the self-publishing route. These next two posts explore two of the three roads: The Ins and Outs of Indie Publishing, a guest post by PJ Sharon courtesy of Catie Rhodes, and Publishing with Small Press, a guest post by Laura Kaye courtesy of Stacy Green. These are fabOoolous reads for all writers considering their publishing options.
Show Don’t Tell – one of the most popular phrases a writer hears when attending self-editing workshops. Thanks to the great Angela R. Wallace, I found this wonderful example of how to show and not tell by Ilona Andrews. Thanks for sharing, Angela!
What do we do when we want to talk about a controversial topic on our blog? Taking a side in any controversy can be controversial in itself. Thanks to August McLaughlin, she offers up a wonderful summation of just what to do in her post: Controversial Blog Posts – How to Make them Work.
We all know that Targeting Advertising is the Key to Success, right? If not, check out this fabOoolous post and list of resources by Emlyn Chand.
PART II: FabOoolous Recipes
It’s Martini O’clock! When in need of a fancy cocktail to get us through the night (or day in some circumstances), Jillian Dodd has just what we need: the Thin Mint Martini and the Salted Caramel Chocolate Martini. YUM!!!
Part III: FabOoolous True Crime Stories
Jeffrey Dahmer didn’t corner the market on homosexual oriented serial killings. Kansas City had its own monster: Robert Berdella, a.k.a. the Butcher. While Dahmer killed his victims fairly quickly, Berdella liked to torture the young men he seduced for days and sometimes weeks. He kept a “torture book” detailing his sadistic activities.
Ooo, Stacy really grabbed my attention with this one! When I see an introduction like this, I’m interested. For more about Bob’s Bazaar Bizarre, check out Stacy Green’s thrilling post.
What ‘s better than True Crime? Throwing ghosts into the mix. The Devil’s Weekend by Catie Rhodes does not disappoint. To quote Catie quoting Joseph Conrad: “The horror! the horror!”
Part IV: Just Because They’re fabOoolous
Anyone who knows me, knows I love scary movies. Especially slashers. Which is why it should come as no surprise that one of my favorite links these past few months is Sonia G. Medeiros’ Creepiest Movie Quotes.
Can anyone name a few Songs that Became Movies? It’s a lot harder than it seems. Check out a few of the lyrical sensations that took Hollywood by storm, courtesy of Catie Rhodes.
Ever wonder what in the world the kids are talking about today? Take a trip down memory lane with these Excellent Generational Phrases by Erin Brambilla.
Who is a Larger than Life Character? Check out this very interesting blog post by Julie Glover where she explores theconcoctions of an author’s mind who take on their own identity and become conversational touchpoints…
Ever wonder what a logline would be like if we combined two movies together? To be honest, I hadn’t either. Not until I read Loglines from the Edge of Ridiculousness by Myndi Shafer. This post is brilliant and very entertaining.
We can never be too safe in today’s digital world, which is why I absolutely recommend this fabOoolous Tech Safety and Security blog with Ian Thompson courtesy of Amber West. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like the hackers are growing exponentially today?
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And now for the last part of today’s special blog celebration — my participation in The Lucky 7 Meme tag game. Thank you to Angela R. Wallace, Marcy Kennedy, Lisa Hall Wilson, Shannyn Schroeder, and Jillian Dodd for the big slap on the back (that’s how you play tag, right?).
Of course with any tagging game, there are rules…
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.
2. Go to line 7.
3. Copy down the next 7 lines (sentences or paragraphs) and post them as they’re written.
4. Tag 7 writers and let them know.
Everyone knows that I’m working on my first YA mystery novel, but very few know anything about it. I’ve kept pretty mum on my title and storyline, but considering I’m almost done with my cover and am in the final editing stage, it’s time.
So here’s an excerpt from the rough draft of my first book… drumroll please…
Football Sweetheart
Whew! That’s the first time I’ve publically announced the name of my book!!
I’ve been editing for the past few months and I’m really not sure if this scene will actually end up on page 77, but it’s there now. So here goes…
Aimee glanced up while singing along to Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” only to notice Jeanie wasn’t standing in the circle any longer. She slowed her swaying, and started looking around. Jeanie was new to the school, new to the group, and had never been out to Uncle Marty’s — not with the girls anyway. Just as she started to panic, Aimee spotted Jeanie across the dark street talking to Bobby.
“The nerve!” Aimee spewed spit with the exclamation, luckily keeping her tone low enough to only grab the attention of her friends.
Okay, so it’s not much… but I did play by the rules – page 77, 7 lines down, 7 lines of my novel.
I’ve read some great excerpts of those participating in the Lucky 7 Meme tag game these past few weeks, and I’m looking forward to more. Here are my Lucky 7 that I’d like to return the favor and slap on the back — TAG, YOU’RE IT!
- Jen L. Kirchner
- Amber West
- Angela R. Wallace
- Nichole Chase
- Stephanie Nelson
- Liz Schulte
- Claudia Lefeve
This was really out of my comfort zone to announce the name of my book as well as include a small excerpt. But why not? I sure hope my Lucky 7 take the plunge with me, but I also understand if they don’t.
What blogs have you read lately that have really stood out among the rest? Have any good blog posts for writers regarding self-publishing or e-books that you’d like to share? Recipes? How about a favorite true crime story that sends chills down your spine? We’d love to hear from you!
Tiffany A White's Ooo Factor 