One Lovely and Another Creative

 Lovely and Kreative are two blogger awards that have circulated blog land and found its way here. Two delightful, inspiring, humorous, intelligent, LOVELY and CREATIVE women have graced me with this honor to which I thank them---At a price. I must share 7 random things about myself, and pass these awards on to other bloggers who I find lovely and creative. Notice how I am combining two awards into one? That would be the first random thing about me:

• I am very tricky. I also love to sneak up on people and scare them. Practical jokes make my day, and I love to hide things, especially treats so I can have them later. My family likes to compare me to a squirrel. 
• You never know when or where I will be with my camera ready to catch you off guard. I am a super Spy and a Super hero, top secret of course, so don't tell anyone.
  
• Hangers need to hang the same way in the closet to keep the universe from collapsing, I am still trying to convince my husband of that fact. He avoids that problem by throwing all his clothes on the floor and refusing to buy more closet space.
• I am addicted to spices and herbs. I love experimenting with them in food and art.
• I make my own soaps, oils, candles, incense....yes, I am a witch but don't worry, I am a good one and I never drink and fly.
• There is always some kind of stone in my pocket or on my person, and I am always looking for new ones. I recently quite my stone of the month club but I think I may have to join again. Just another addiction.
• The sound of sports announcers on TV or the radio make me cringe. I don't understand why they have to scream, it hurts my ears! If my husband is watching sport on TV, I wear headsets and listen to music. Get a grip people, it's only a ball!

Thank you crazy yet LOVELY MELYNDA and CREATIVE KATIE O'SULLIVAN for these awards, make sure to check out their great blogs. Here are my picks for random exposure, no pressure---do what you will with them.

 Lisa at Diary of a Square Toothed Girl -
 Jenni Steel at Natural Twigs n Spices -
 Geoff Maritz at Geoff's blogs -
Alisia at Some Writers Make It..
Hilary Melton-Butcher at Positive Letters .... inspirational stories
 Odie Langley at The Simple Life -
 Jamie McHenry at Faeries Are Real -
And last but not least Susan the Superearthling

For all you mothers out there, have  a wonderful Mothers Day! Your mother is the one person who will always have your back!

Eye Spy

You might have noticed some changes to my side bar, and you might even remember that I have promised some changes to my blog. I am going to try and commit to at least three days a week, each with a theme. Mondays will be story day. Sometimes my posts will be on Norse mythology, Norwegian culture, fairytales or just gibberish, whatever strikes my fancy. Wednesdays are Eye Spy...Something or someone out there is worth spying on so I will let you know each Wednesday what or who that is. Fridays are all about food and family, so back from popular demand; I will let you into my kitchen and answer my childrens favorite question, "What's for dinner Mom?" Don't let this question fool you, my family has a huge appetite and often there is much more on the table than food. Minnie will still be playing gibberish on the last Friday of every month, with her finished story on the following Monday. Now like I said, I am going to give this a try and see how it goes. Maybe having more structure in my blogging will allow me more time to work on my book.

A couple of months ago my blog had its one year anniversary and to celebrate I had a blogfest. The prize I was giving away if I had reached my goal was a troll and some Norwegian chocolate. The troll is still here, but I ate the chocolate. Maybe someday I will try another blogfest, but the few times I have tried have not been very successful. It isn’t much fun to throw a party when hardly anyone bothers to come. Oh well, more chocolate for me.

Today I am turning my spying eye to Hart Johnson who has been writing in her bathtub again to bring us her first ever “Cozy Mystery” book which is being released on June 5^th.  The name of her book is The Azalea Attack, and she is celebrating together with her friend and mentor Elizabeth Spann Craig. Elisabeth is also releasing on the same day, her first book in a new series called, Quilt or Innocence ... Both books are “Cozy Mysteries”... Check out their CrazyCozy Blogfest and join the fun!

If you know of anyone or something worth spying on, let me know so I can put on my spy gear and sneak around. I do so love being a sneaky spy. So what do you think about my new blogging schedule and themes? Do you think it will help me to focus more on my book? Do you like to sneak around too? It drives my husband crazy but keeps him on his toes.

Get the Picture?

This week-end is all about making the rounds and cleaning house. There are some things I have been thinking a lot about lately. Spring is in the air, my blog has been online for little over a year and some spring cleaning is warranted. My thoughts have been geared towards blogging and why I do it, what I expect from it and what as a reader you expect from me. Why are you here reading these words? Do you ever wonder the same things? I need to know because right now the question "What am I doing?" is weighing heavily on my mind. It has taken me a year to realize that this is just another social network. I know, silly me, what was I thinking? What are you thinking? Do you wonder how many people, out of all those people that follow you, really READ your blog and WHY they do? I guess this is my blogging "turning point." Have you ever had one of those?


It is time to decide if I should take this any further and if so, what I want from it. As that ever so popular song, "What do you want from me?" gets louder in my head, these are the  questions I need to ask: What do I want, what do I want from you, and what do you want? I will tell you what I want and I hope you will answer the other part to that question.

• To connect with other writers so I do not feel so alone. The language is one thing, but the mentality is another.
• To gain information towards some day publishing a book.
• Recognition that what I write is important, that I say something and that I do it well, also sneaky me wants to know if my kids care what I think.Yes I can see who visits my blog, and my children seldom do, if you are here now you are my favorite child, nope nothing in life is fair.
• To visit a blog that is easy to connect to on a personal level. My blog roll is there for a reason! I do lurk...
• Time difference, it's true, it does make a difference
• To visit a blog that is easy to read. Size does matter, and so does visual availability. There are several blogs I visit less often because Word verification is turned on, the text is hard to read, the page takes to long to load and I just plain old forget about you. If you want me to remember  then you have to comment and I need to be able to find you easily so I can visit and comment as well. Please don't take it personal if I remove you.

How often do you visit your stats, and are they important to you? Mine only tell me so much and this is what they tell me:

Posts

Thor Apr 23, 2011, 12 comments 11,876 Pageviews

Games Blogfest Jun 6, 2011, 33 comments 6,470 Pageviews

LOKI THE TRICKSTER Apr 14, 2011, 22 comments 2,054 Pageviews

You Geek! Aug 18, 2011, 12 comments 1,847 Pageviews

Odin-Father of the Gods Feb 23, 2012, 6 comment What I am seeing is that the pictures are more important than the words. Really? Is this true? Give me your thoughts people, they are important to me. Have a nice week-end! Ha ha, you get the picture now? This is an experiment :) You can answer the questions anyways. Really I am wondering how many times I will have to post this blog to get the answers I am looking for....I am so excited, you know why. If you don't then you have to ask yourself what you are missing...

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Lions and Tigers and Dragons?...OH MY! In true Dorothy fashion E.C. Stilson takes us to another world in her new book, "The Sword of Seneck." Written as a form of grief therapy to help her children understand the loss of her first child, this story is anything but sad. Full of adventure and page turning excitement, it is the perfect story to share with your children, your grandchildren or the kid next door. Here is a teaser from her book:

"Aliya Fisher knows nothing about her true heritage until a vindictive sorceress kidnaps her brother and sister. The young adventurer must take up her birthright, battle strange creatures, and find the Sword of Senack if she hopes to best the witch. But even if Aliya finds the famed weapon and survives the perilous oceanic journey, the enchantress is far more than she appears. How does one defeat an immortal who lusts for revenge?"

To purchase this book please go here:

The Sword of Senack (The Mer-son Cycle)

 

To  find out more about the author visit her blog The Crazy Life of a Writing Mom , you are sure to fall in love with her, laugh and cry with her and discover something about yourself along the way.

 

Come back again tomorrow for more tales about the Norse Gods. Who is your favorite and why?

 

Gods and Fairytales have been tagged

Another game of tag is circulating the blog world. I've been tagged again, this time for the Lucky 7 MEME by Gossip Girl at “Just you wait, one day I will. Here are the rules of the game: 

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. No cheating

4. Tag 7 authors

5. Let them know

This is from my current WIP, keep in mind that it is still under its first draft.

Working title: Gods and Fairytales 

“I can feel your heart beating like a scared little rabbit underneath that pink skin of yours.” 

Tilting his head he leaned over and smelled the small of my neck, and I shivered as his long tongue swept over my skin as if tasting a piece of candy. 

“You can make this easy on yourself and just give me the box you found and a small drop of your blood.”

He backed away and studied me closely, and then tilting his head to the side he said, “You don't know what you are, do you?”

Since most my writing friends have been tagged, the hardest part is finding someone to tag so I just went to the A-Z challenge bloghop and picked out some interesting blogs. Some of you I know, some I do not. If you do not have a work in progress maybe there is something else you want to share.

Tag you’re next:

 

Claire Goverts http://cgoverts.blogspot.com/

Amy McCorkle http://creative-chatter.blogspot.com

Alisia Compton. http://www.somewriters.com/

Dona Days http://www.donasdays.blogspot.com/

Emily White http://www.emilytwhite.blogspot.com/

http://fantasticreflection.blogspot.com/

Melissa Ann Goodwin http://writeryogini.blogspot.com/

 

Enjoy your Sunday everyone and don’t forget to come back tomorrow to see what Minnie did with the Irish.

Help Yourself

 Interrupting my normal blog for today with this important message:

As you know, CAPTCHA has been making all of our lives miserable. There have been many posts about it and how to remove it, including my own...WHICH YOU CAN FIND HERE... 


I strongly recommend that if you are doing the A-Z challenge to remove your word verification. As you can see on the sidebar of my blog, I have made a banner to show that I have removed CAPTCHA. You are free to use it as well. Help yourself to the banner and to getting more comments on your blog.

If you are worried about attracting Spam (which blogger does remove most of) just monitor your comments before they are posted.

Don't forget, tomorrow is Minnies' Gibberish Day, hope you come and play.

Click here to go to todays post on Odins Wife 

Odins Wife and Some Sunshine

Frigg, was the daughter of Fiorgyn and the sister of Jörd. She was also the wife of Odin. Friggs wedding to Odin caused great rejoicing in Åsgard, where the goddess was dearly loved. After her wedding it was customary to celebrate all anniversaries with feast and song, and Frigg was declared the patroness of marriage as well as motherhood. Her health was always cheered together with that of Odin and Thor at wedding or birthing feasts.

Frigg was also goddess of the clouds, and as such was represented as wearing snow-white garments. She was queen of the gods, and she alone had the privilege of sitting on the throne Hlidskialf, beside her husband Odin. From there she too could look over the entire world and see what was happening. She possessed the knowledge of the future, which no one could ever prevail upon her to reveal. She was good at keeping secrets.

Frigg was as a tall beautiful woman, crowned with heron plumes, and clothed in pure white robes which were secured at the waist by a golden girdle. On this girdle hung a bunch of keys, the distinctive sign of the Northern housewife. 

Although she often appeared beside her husband, Frigg preferred to remain in her own palace called Fensalir. This was the hall of mists or of the sea, where she plied her wheel spinning golden thread or weaving long webs of bright colored clouds. In   order to perform this work she made use of a marvelous jeweled spinning wheel which at night shone brightly in the sky as a constellation. This was known in the North as Friggas Spinning Wheel, while the inhabitants of the South called the same stars Orion’s Belt.

Now for some Sunshine:

Nick Wilford at Scattergun Scribblings gave me the Sunshine Award, for my "positive nice thoughts" in comments. Thank you Nick.


 Rules are:

• Thank the person who gave you the award and provide a link.
• Write a post about it
• Answer the questions below.
• Pass it on to 10 bloggers who you think really deserve it and let them know

Favorite color: Green


Favorite animal: Wolf


Favorite number: 9


Favorite non-alcoholic drink: Coffee or Ice-tea


Facebook or Twitter: Facebook, Goggle+, Pinterest and someday Tweet Tweet


My passions are: Artistic and creative of which there are many


Getting or giving presents: Giving


Favorite patterns: Found in Nature


Favorite day of the week: Friday


Favorite flower: Lilly


I will pass this award on to the following because they have great blogs and deserve some extra attention and sunshine:




Melanie Stanford  
Andrea Mack 
Yadin Bromberg
Jessie Humphries
Meghan Kirkland
Kate Larkindale
Ru
Jessica Therrien
Jemi Fraser
Honey

Because of the Upcoming A-Z challenge, Minnie is hosting Gibberish early this month. Instead of the last Friday this month she will be here tomorrow with her unusual approach to gaming. Make sure you stop by and join in the fun.

Fallen Wings

ON FALLEN WINGS Release and Giveaway

Today is Jamie McHenrys birthday. It's also a full moon and ON FALLEN WINGS is officially available! Happy Birthday Jamie! I have not read this book yet, but I am looking forward to reading it. You kidding? It has faeries in it!

He is celebrating by giving away the kindle version for three days and also holding a contest for the paperback version.  Two lucky winners will walk away with a signed copy of his wonderful debut novel. This contest will run through Saturday and he will announce the winners on next Monday's post. 

"Faeries are supposed to be perfect. Rhiannon was. Her life was. Then her fiancé disappeared. She tried to be strong. She asked for help. There’s only so much trying and asking will do. So, she took action. That’s when everything fell apart."

Everything seems to be about faeries this month, maybe that is a sign that Spring is in the air! Are you starting to enjoy warmer weather, have you seen any spring flowers yet? I am impatiently waiting as I look out my window and see another snowflake fall to the ground. Tomorrow is Friday and I will be posting some Norwegian Folklore for you to ponder over the week-end. Hope everyone enjoys their day and if you are lucky, who knows...Maybe a faery will come out and play, or a troll just might rock your world.

Trolls Rock, check this out!

ONE YEAR OLD TODAY!

There are two people I hold responsible for starting a blog. My husband and my youngest son. They talked me into it as a form of self therapy for my depression. If they thought I was going to make any money out of it, they were so wrong. Blogging was not totally unfamiliar to me, the thought of doing it myself just never occurred to me. After all, I am not a food critic, or a shopping expert. I am not any kind of expert really, but over the years I have been through a lot and I have many things to say. So why not say it in a blog. Hence the name of my blog was born and my ideas... my naked life, hit the internet waves for all to see on March 7, 2011.

Family and friends were the first ones to "follow me" but I learned fast that the best way to get my voice out there was to join Bloghops and Blogfests. My first steps were taken in "Mommy blogland" It seemed to me that all blogs I came across were written by young mothers, which I am most definitely not. Then one day, I stumbled into the A-Z challenge and met a world of writers just like myself. So if you are insecure about blogging or have just started out, and are worried no one will connect with what you write, YOU ARE NOT ALONE! It really does help to know that and THAT is what the Writers Support Group is all about. My advice to you is to get out there, join the A-Z challenge, join groups and blogfests. I have made many friends this year and I have learned a lot about writing. It so happens that this month my birthday falls on the first Wednesday of the month when this group posts about concerns, doubts or just support and encouragement.

So to make a long story short, I want to celebrate with you and the fact that there is a full moon outside, makes this party even more fun. Getting 500 "followers" who I prefer to call my "Muses"  (because all of you inspire me in so many ways) would be something that I had never thought possible when I first started this blog one year ago today. Do you want to help me celebrate and join my TROLLFEST? If you do here is how:

For the rest of this month I will leave up a linky tool that you can add your FIRST BLOG POST -- OR A POST THAT TELLS ABOUT YOUR FIRST BLOG POST. You can ADD YOUR LINK OR POST anytime you want as long as it is before April 1st. Link your site on the linky tool TO YOUR VERY FIRST BLOG POST or to a POST THAT TELLS ABOUT HOW AND WHY YOU STARTED BLOGGING.  




Here is the the linky tool for you to sign up on, REMEMBER USE THE LINK TO YOUR POST, NOT YOUR BLOG---otherwise we will have trouble finding your post.


Please help me spread the word. Check out the other blogs and please Use my banner!

Now the good part! If I make 500 followers before next month I am going to give away a prize! I will draw one of your names and send you a Norwegian Troll. Look, isn't she cute? She is sitting here just waiting to take a trip! Since she will be traveling so long, I am sending some Norwegian Chocolate with her as well.Winner will be announced in April, lol...not on April Fools day. I am not that mean!

Another Life

Another life

The pitch:

Desperate to make sense of her reoccurring dreams and nightmares, Emma seeks the help of a therapist that specializes in past life regression. What she uncovers sets her on a quest to find one man who holds the key to finding the happiness she so longs for.

Flash fiction using 4 of 5 prompts including a poem-Total word use 199

---Flashes of light danced before my eyes
Another life just passed in disguise
More memories to leave behind
More scars to heal this battered mind…

From a distance children were playing amongst the debris. All of them looked familiar. Before I could place the faces another image appeared. My heart recognized this small boy chasing a ball before my mind could grasp the fact that he was once again gone. Watching from a distance I could see two people sitting together under the remains of a concrete bridge. He was crying as he leaned over a rusted bridge support and stroked her wet hair. The cut on his leg would heal, but his heart might not. Sadness swept over me as I recognized the woman’s face as my own. In one quick flash my life had passed before my eyes. 

There were no more surprises and with calmness never felt before, I opened my eyes and saw the doctor staring at me with curiosity. “So how do you feel?”

“I understand the dreams now… but the nightmares, will they go away?”

 As I left the doctor’s office this "other life" made me more determined than ever to find him.

Please feel free to critique my writing.

If you liked my entry (number 10) you can vote for me, and find out more about the criteria for this challenge HERE.

To read about Rachel Morgans Book launch please scroll down to the previous post.

Looking for Fairies?

 

The fairy realm is not as far away as you would think. We can catch a glimpse of it in flickering lights around plants or shadowy faces in the trees, through snow crystals on a sunny day, fresh morning dew, or ripples in a pool of water. We hear it in the whispers of the trees as a breeze brushes through them, a running creek, or from music that seems to appear from nowhere. We can often feel it as a cold chill on a warm day, the way shivers run through us, or goose bumps fly over our skin. We can smell the fairy realm through the fragrance of a flower or a warm summer rain. 

Some say that fairies stimulate inspiration, intuition, creativity, and artistic energies. If that is the case than Rachel Morgan must have firsthand knowledge of this realm and the fairies in it. Have you been looking for fairies? Join me in reading her book and let’s travel there together. Like I said, the fairy realm is not as far away as you would think. Here is the link to her site and some information on her new book release which is today:

 Rachel Morgan Writes



Today the Creepy Hollow series kicks off with the release of the first story, GUARDIAN!!

GUARDIAN introduces readers to the magical world of Creepy Hollow, a realm where fae creatures — both safe and definitely-not-so-safe — dwell. Things are cool as long as the fae stick to their own realm. It's when they find their way into the human world that things start going wrong...





1. Receive assignment.

2. Save a life.

3. Sleep.

4. Repeat.

Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until one of her assignments—a human boy who shouldn’t even be able to see her—follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? But Nate and Vi are about to land themselves in even bigger trouble—and it’ll take all Vi’s training to get them out alive.

Buy from Amazon US

Buy from Amazon UK

Buy from Smashwords

The Creepy Hollow Series

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Book Trailer

Author Info

Blog | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+

To find out more about the series, the author, and the characters, check out the blog tour that’s happening over the next two weeks.

Click here for the blog tour schedule

And there is a GIVEAWAY going on at Rachel's blog!

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

What do you see?

Today I am planning on telling you about the Wyrd Sisters, but first I want to tell you about my WEIRD sister. We do not share the same blood, but some of our brain cells must come from the same "God Space" (if there is such a space.) I know for a fact that our funny bone is connected to the same virtual nerve endings.


At a young age there are many children who find it necessary to have a make believe friend. Mine was born out of loneliness, as I imagine most are. She was a bit awkward and weird, but she was also funny, daring, loyal and most definitely brave. As I grew older she disappeared, but the memory of her has stayed with me. Imagine my surprise when 40 years later I found her in living flesh. In this community, this wide and vast invisible network, there she was. She looked like her, talked like her and acted just like her. She quickly made her way into my heart and I can honestly call her my friend. What started out as a figment of my imagination became very real indeed. It isn't often that you can meet someone who just gets you from the start.


Her name is Melynda and not long ago in connection with the Insecure Writers Support Group I mentioned her, and the fact that she needed our help. On Friday, which is tomorrow, she is going to have a serious surgery on her eyes. She has been going blind for some time now. If you are a writer, you can imagine how devastating this is and how her life has changed. Her friend and neighbor Elisa has decided to secretly help her pay for the hospital bills by publishing a book that Melynda has written. That book is now available and so is the chance for you to do something good today. Not just for her, but for yourself as well. I have already bought my copy and I am so looking forward to reading and laughing about her "Crazy World."


Do you ever just skip over things and say to yourself or others, "What difference does it make?" Believe me, sometimes what you do really does make a difference and this time is one of them. Please go to one of these links and buy her book. Put a smile on your face, and someone else who really needs a good smile these days.


Here are the links for where you can purchase Melynda's book:

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Nonsense-1-Melynda-Fleury/dp/1466381434/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1330536471&sr=8-9
http://www.amazon.com/Just-Nonsense-January-March-ebook/dp/B007EHO0B2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1330536471&sr=8-4
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/137018

Here's the initial post Elisa wrote about what we're trying to do for her :)

If You Love Melynda READ THIS

Thanks for your help.

Now let me tell you about the Wyrd Sisters. Yes, I spelled it right! This is Norse Mythology so of course the spelling is a bit weird.

The original Wyrd Sisters were the three Norns, the Norse Goddesses of destiny. In Norse mythology they are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men. These three fatalists can be found tending the ash tree Yggdrasil in Doomstead. They are Past, Present and Future, spinning your destiny at this very moment. URD does fate, VERDANDI does present and SKULD the future.

They are also engaged in tapestry work of such complexity that nothing ever gets finished. Until one of their Destiny tapestries is completed confusion and uncertainty will rule the three Norns. SKULD who is the youngest and most beautiful also takes time off to serve with the VALKYRIES (which I will be telling you about soon) on a voluntary basis. URD and VERDANDI are looking at you right now as they spin and spin away. Now I am wondering, what difference will it make.


Have a most pleasant day, and remember to be kind to yourself. It really is not Nonsense at all. Blogfest anyone?

Catch a Fire, Win a World

Pack your bags and get ready to go on tour with Captain Ninja Alex Cavanaugh. This blog tour to promote his new book Cassa Fire runs from February 27 through March 9. Anyone who comments on his blog posts during that time can win a special package from his publisher that promises to take you to another world. A copy of CassaFire, CassaStar, a large tote bag, and a mug are the prizes that should get you started on your journey. 

CassaFire is the sequel to CassaStar and it promises to be just as exciting and full of adventure as its predecessor.  If you fell in love with his characters in his first book you are sure to love them even more after reading this sequel. Tune up the orchestra and prepare yourself for a Space Opera that you will never forget. Here is a copy of the  blog tour, hope to see you on the road.

2/27 - Ciara Knight
2/28 - Edi’s Book Lighthouse
2/29 - Isis Rushdan
3/1 - YA Author Elana Johnson
3/2 - Michael Offiutt
3/5 - Under the Tiki Hut
3/6 - Talli Roland
3/7 - Tossing it Out
3/8 - Daily Write
3/9 - Sia McKye’s Thoughts Over Coffee

CassaFire review:

“This is a book of inner and outer journeys, of inner and outer adventures, mysteries and revelations. It is also a book of friendship, relationship and equality. CassaStar is the cake. CassaFire is the cherry.” - Edi’s Book Lighthouse

 On another note, my computer has crashed and burned so I am on a loaner, hopefully it will get fixed soon. Until then I am not sure

how often I will be able to get online.

Pass it on

Sending my pet fish to do the dirty work

Usually I like to spend the weekends reading others blogs and do not post, but today I got caught up in tag so here are the answers to probably more than my share of questions.

You see, I am confused and I have no point of reference. I have played tag in this “Web Pool” before but the rules were a bit different. Link to the person that tagged you, and the people you tag and pass around the same questions. My busy schedule has kept me out of the loop for this ”Platform Tag”  I have not been playing, so sorry if you have tagged me before and I have raised my hands in surrender. Since this is a good way to get familiar with other platform builders I decided to be a good sport and pass the torch by answering the questions given by Traci Kenworth and K.S. Collier. I have also added some of my own. If you are tagged, feel free to answer the ones you like and pass them on to others. Since I seem to have no rules to follow, how many is up to you. Pass on only the questions you want answered, answer only the questions you want to answer. 

Original questions by Traci Kenworth (sorry, no link)

Coffee or tea?---Coffee

What was the first story you can remember writing?---A Christmas Story

What TV show, video game, movie would you recommend to other writers?---Game of thrones, do not play video games, Lord of the Rings

What time of day are you most productive? When I am alone, whenever that might be

Green or black olives?---Both

What was your first car?---1966 ford Mustang

What is your guilty pleasure?---“smoking”

Are you a fan of footie pajamas? ---Not a fan of pajamas, any kind.

What's something you didn't think you'd like that you did/do?---My husband

Favorite salad dressing?----Ranch

What is your most embarrassing nickname? (Or, just any nickname. You don't have to give an embarrassing one.)----Used to call myself Steve, because everyone pronounced my name wrong. Now that I live in Norway, I dropped the nickname because everyone here in Norway can pronounce it right.

Questions by K.S. Collier http://www.kscollier1.blogspot.com/

What do you write, fiction or nonfiction?---I write, therefor I am…

What are your favorite sweets? Chocolate, but do not really have a sweet tooth

How often do you write? Every day

Do you write by outlining first, or by the seat of your pants? Outlining and then the seat of my pants

Do you use foreshadowing to strengthen your plotline? Yes

Who is your favorite author? Do not have one, have many—One favorite is J.R.R. Tolkien

What is your favorite movie or movie series? Lord of the Rings

What genre do you write? Several

Name your future pet, and describe them? Would never have one

What is your all-time favorite character, whether your own or someone else's? Frodo Baggins the Hobbit

Do you have a stuffed animal in your possession, if so, what type? No, I collect rocks.

Questions by Me:

Do you use Word Verification and why? (Better check first)

When visiting a Blog what bothers you most about the format?

Do you have your email address listed on your profile, if not, why?

How often do you post?

Are you on Facebook or Google plus?

How often do you check your stats?

What influences what you right about?

What is the most important thing that happened to you last year?

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

If you could talk to a dead person about writing, who would that be?

What one thing in the grocery store do you always want to buy? I cannot help but collect new spices.

My pet Catfish has passed the stick to:

Rachele Alpine  http://www.freckle-head.blogspot.com/

Anna Mittower  http://annamittower.blogspot.com/

Julia King http://juliawritingjewelsking.blogspot.com/

Alison Miller http://alisonmiller20.blogspot.com/

Cheyrlanne Ham http://www.cherylanneham.blogspot.com/

Brenna Braaten http://iwriteandread.blogspot.com/

Claire Hennessy http://clairehennessy.blogspot.com/

Randy Lindsay http://randylindsay.blogspot.com/

Tizzy Potts http://tizzypotts.blogspot.com/

Sher A. Hart http://sherahart.blogspot.com/

See you on Monday with the finished Gibberish Tale that Minnie started and the CPSWA continued. You guys are getting good at making Minnie think outside the box! Enjoy your week-end.

CAPTCHA, WHAT?

  
What does it even mean? Once again I feel the need to address the issue of Spam control and Robot Proof Word Verification. With all the Blogfests and various blog celebrations, I would love to comment on as many blogs as possible. What is sure to stop me is Word Verification. There is nothing more frustrating then taking the time to read and think about a good comment, then having to decipher a lot of letters that do not make sense (that is if you can even make out what they are.)

Can you make out what this word is? If not, how many times are you willing to try? Please take off word verification! You want more traffic to your blog and I want to comment. Surely I am not alone. How many of you are robots?

Borrowed from a post on Facebook by Matthew MacNish

Blogger does catch most of the Spam! Do you even know if you have Word Verification on? I am sure that some of you are not aware and if you have been wondering why you do not have as much traffic as you should, maybe this is the reason. I tend to avoid blogs that I know are using this feature. Let's face it, most of us have a limited amount of time to spend. We don't want to spend it being accused of robot activity or inflicting pain on ourselves. (Such as hair pulling) Does any one else have an opinion on this? I would love to hear it!

Removing Word Verification
Note: The new Blogger interface does not have the option to turn off word verification. You have to click on the gear-looking thing in the upper right hand corner ("Blogger Options" if you mouse over it), and select "Old Blogger Interface." Then these instructions should work for you as well.

1- Go to your dashboard
2-Click on the SETTINGS in the blog you want to remove word verification from
3-Click on Comments
4-Scroll down just a little bit and you will see "Show word verification on comments" Click NO
*Right above this you can choose to moderate your comments.. if you want to read them before they go "live" to your blog click Yes

Street Corner

This caught my attention and I thought to myself, "Oh no...Is it that time already?  Yes, it's time for the First Campaign Challenge of the 4th campaign!  Here is the challenge:

Write a short story/flash fiction story in 200 words or less, excluding the title. It can be in any format, including a poem. 

Begin the story with the words, “Shadows crept across the wall”. These five words will be included in the word count. 

If you want to give yourself an added challenge (optional), do one or more of these:end the story with the words: "everything faded." (also included in the word count)include the word "orange" in the story.write in the same genre you normally write make your story 200 words exactly!

In a panic I searched through my notebook of scattered ideas and here is my entry:

 Street Corner

Shadows crept across the wall. She watched them in fascination as she swallowed the pills. Her orange nail polish was chipped, her stockings torn and her cheap dress barely clung to her body. She was mans' every tattered dream and not proud of it. Night after night she waited in the same shadows for someone or something else to come along. The cold and the hunger dodged her attention; all that remained real were the corners on the street in front of her and the sound of her breath. Tonight she felt lucky. There was something strange in the air, something else was coming, and when it turned the corner she caught her breath in surprise.

Beauty floated towards her on a haunting melody and everything stopped to listen. Rats held each others  tails; their meals still stuck in their teeth glistened in the streetlight. Foreign bugs stopped their chattering and sat quietly on the wet pavement. Even the air stopped breathing and yesterdays’ news clung to brick walls with ink stained pages. Beauty was no stranger to this street, its name was death and it knew where it was going as it approached her...so at last, everything faded.

My Darling Someone

Not so very long ago a friend of mine was talking about writing his profile for an online dating service, "just in case." Now I know that he is happily married and was not really planning on using any such service, but the thought of him ever having to join the "dating game" terrified him. I don't blame him. Being married for many years is nothing short of a miracle. Even couples getting married seem to be a rare thing. There are more obituaries in the papers than wedding announcements. I have been thinking a lot about love lately, not surprising considering the time of year it is and the date on todays calendar. Love is starting to look like fast food. Online dating, and flirting in a make believe world through an avatars eyes is an easy hook up. Look around you; chances are that you know at least one couple that has met through the screen of "Data Matchmaker." I don't know, maybe this is a good thing. Maybe falling in love has become nothing more than a processor, and when the thrill is gone another model comes along. Has the world got a shortage of romance, are we running out of love? Do young people even know what love is? So I sat myself down and decided to write a letter to my unborn grandchild.

My darling someone,

Close your eyes and know that I have been thinking about you even before you were born. You are only a dream of mine today, but someday maybe these words will find you in a real world, whether I am there with you or not. There is so much that I would like to share with you; time, places, people, things, feelings and thoughts. A tapestry of everything that is important to me. Trust me; take my hand and I will show you what love is made out of. Its fabric is the most important thing I could ever share with you. There is a place inside your heart where all things are possible, where dreams are born and courage is found. You could get there without me but you could never get there alone. 

Every day there are so many discoveries to make, some grand some rather simple. It is the simple things in life that tend to please the most. Feel passion in the things in life that give you pleasure and you will find them everywhere. In the sounds of day and night, pleasure is laughter when you hear children playing, the birds singing, the wind in the trees, the rain against hot pavement, a fire crackling. Pleasure is love pressed into passion. The silent sounds of night such as soft moans, or the gentle humming of utilities and the even breathing of the body next to you in bed. Pleasure is the unexpected kiss and the way your lover reaches for your hand. It is the smile from a stranger a letter from a friend, the way a puppy cuddles up next to you, and the way you feel when you come in from the cold. It is looking into the eyes of someone and knowing that everything is going to be alright.  Pleasure is in the way things smell. The familiar smell of your lovers’ skin, the smell of a baby and that soft clean body in your arms, the smell of your favorite dinner in the oven, the way the air smells when leaves are burning, or just after a rain. 

Being loved by someone is the greatest pleasure of all. Those three simple words, “I love you”, whether they are from a lover, a friend, a child, a parent, a brother or sister, there is nothing that can compare to being loved. Love is a tapestry of everything and yet it is nothing if left unshared.

With love,

Your future grandmother

Happy Valentines’ Day, I hope you make the most wonderful tapestry to share with someone special. 

Revised from an earlier post of mine.

Origins

Siv

 Inspiration is born some where. Small seeds of it grow in different places, some growing wild and some carefully planted. DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude together with his co-hosts Katie Mills (Creepy Query Girl) Alex J. Cavanaugh and Matthew MacNish  (Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment),  would like us to share the origin of our inspiration. What made us want to write and how did we get started? This is a ORIGINS blogfest, and here is where my seed was planted:
  
Siv is the Norwegian name of a weed that grows in marshes. Isolated stalks, hardy and sometimes ornamental, they tolerate most extreme conditions growing where few other plants can. Whether they knew it at the time or not, my parents could not have picked a name that would suit me any better. Learning to adapt was never a choice but a matter of necessity, as we moved from town to town in a beaten up station wagon and a trailer full of old furniture and boxes. Our father was always busy chasing a new dream, and we would sit in the back seat surrounded by cigarette smoke as he sprouted off about how great things were going to be in this new town. My sisters, my brother and I, had heard it all many times before.

Always the new kid with a name that no one could pronounce, I sought refuge in the school library. Characters in books became my best friends. Friends that kept me company no matter what clothes I wore or where I came from.  It was the summer between grade school and junior high that I discovered the power of my own written words. After seeing Elisabeth Taylor in the movie Rain Tree County I decided to send my very first fan mail. Loving a good story, told on paper or film is inspiring and for some forgotten reason she inspired me.  In my very best handwriting, a carefully composed poem was folded into an envelope then sent to her agent, whose address my mother helped find. Months went by and the letter all but forgotten until one day when my mother brought me a large manila envelope addressed to me. The envelope contained an autographed picture of Elisabeth Taylor and a letter thanking me for the beautiful poem. 

The picture and letter disappeared in an unpaid storage facility, together with all the other childhood mementos of mine. Once again my father had to pack us and his dreams into a beaten up station wagon, leaving most of our things behind. What I did take with me was the desire to keep on writing and it has stayed with me ever since.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR-BLOGFEST

Valentines’ Day is right around the corner and in celebration it only seems fitting to share a bit of love. The retail market in Norway has finally caught up with this “Holiday.” Cards, flowers and chocolates have sneaked their way into the marketing machine as Norway becomes more “Americanized.”  A few years ago Halloween and Valentines’ Day were something that Norwegians only saw and heard about on TV, now they have immigrated into Norwegian culture and it looks like they are here to stay.

From now until the 14^th of February I will be sharing previous posts and hopefully some new ones that deal with matters of the heart. Do you have a story to share or a Valentine you would like to send? Join me in this blogfest and spread some love around. Here is how:

First, you need to sign-up to participate via the Linky tool below, then shout out to all of your blogging friends and encourage them to sign up as well.  Add the badge to your sidebar (I worked hard on it so please use it!) and link it to this page. Then all you have to do is write about love and post it by Valentines’ Day, Feb.14th. Make sure to go around and read the other love-fest posts on love. That is how we spread the love around.

This is my very first blogfest and I am excited to see if there are any lovers out there that are willing to share a little love . Don't forget to add your site to the linky tool below!