BLOG BLITZ 2.0

If you have been a member of the BLOG BLITZ team, hosted by the compassionate and inspiring blogger DL Hammons, then you have experienced the joy giving blog love to brighten someone's day. Commenting on a random blog on Blitz Day has been a rewarding way of building community for me.

On the original BLOG BLITZ post, DL asks the question: what would it be like if the support, encouraging nature, and community spirit of the blogosphere were ever focused on a single blogger? Over the last year and half, 83 bloggers have experienced that mutually beneficial feeling of both giving and receiving a comment Blitz.

DL has revamped the list and encourages all those who are willing to join the team (or to rejoin the team) with the sole purpose of brightening a fellow blogger's day to add your name to the list, and proudly display the BLOG BLITZ banner on their own blog.

To DL Hammons, thank you for coordinating this encouraging event. To all those who have joined the team and commented on or nominated members for a BLOG BLITZ

 thank you for your community spirit.

REALMS FAIRE this week

Its a slow time for me; normally I'd be off on blog break between Nov 1 through January.  I still intend to be mostly absent during these couple months to spend time with family and catch up on reading and writing on my own writing projects.

If you are not participating in NaNo and find yourself some boredom time, M Pax has just the online fun you're looking for this week. I'll be hopping around the Realms Faire some to see what this is all about myself. There and games and prizes to be won; lots of free books to read during those long winter evenings and weekends.

Have a good week everyone.

IWSG: Feeling Naked and BotB results

Here we are again, at the first Wednesday in November; the date to post for the monthly INSECURE WRITERS SUPPORT GROUP (sometimes known as the I Was Seeking Gary bloghop). The IWSG was founded and is hosted by Ninja Captain Alex J Cavanaugh "To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!"  In your post Alex encourages authors to "Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time."

Each month our Ninja Captain generously allows a few members to co-host with him. November's co-hosts are LG Keltner, Lisa Buie-Collard, SL Hennesy, and myself.

My new start at this blog hasn't had the desired effect as a writing incentive.

I've been feeling kinda naked and undeveloped here. I miss my stuff I spent about five years collecting at the old site. I miss all the awards, the quotes, the links to my few published works. I miss my name, my blog fest writings, the guest posts and book reviews that comprised my writing life.

The last couple months I've been just hanging out at home. Its not easy for me to be without a day job (and might I add my son doesn't like me sitting home either) and it isn't just about the lack of money. I don't like being bored. I don't like domestic duties such as cooking, cleaning, doing yard work and sorting through junk.

I have time to write and blog, but am more interested in catching up on pleasure reading. I'm not so multi-talented to read a book (even beta for review), write, and critique for my writers group all at the same time. Plus, blogging and writing is what lost me my last day job. And since I'm still job hunting in the same field I have a hard time throwing all my energy into writing that I possibly can't submit if I want to keep the potential new day job.

I know this will all sort itself out and work out the way it is supposed to, but dang do I hate all this indecision. And waiting. And house cleaning.

Thats it for my insecurity this month: just feeling a bit naked and uninspired. Not a good thing during National Novel Writing Month. I hope everyone out there participating and supporting fellow authors is all revved up and excited. Good luck to y'all.

Be sure to visit as many IWSG participants on the linky as you can and brighten someone else's day.
* * *

As for the results of my Battle Of The Bands post on Nov 1 between Amos Lee and Art of Noise performing NOVEMBER RAIN:

of the 16 voters 13 voted for Amos; 1 voted for Art of Noise, and two voted for the original artists Guns and Roses, who were not in the running. A landslide in favor of Amos regardless.

See ya around the blogs :)

WHO'S YOUR HERO blogfest

Today I'm participating in Joy Campbell's WHO'S YOUR HERO? blogfest. I'm not sure my entry satisfies the criteria:

EVERYBODY has a hero/heroine. It can be real-life or a fictional hero/heroine.


Here is a list to get you thinking...
1.  The Perfect Hero
2.  The Misfit
3.  The Grizzled Old-Timer
4.  The Everyman
5.  The Anti-Hero
6.  The Prodigy
7.  The Loner Hero
8.  The Tragic Hero

I'm sure that's enough to get those creative juices
flowing. You can write a story/flash fiction, share an anecdote, write a poem... remember, you are only limited by your imagination...

Join us if you have a hero you can tell us about in 300 words.

There will be incentives, such as Amazon gift cards.


In my view, Hero’s are born, not made. I do not believe all hero’s fulfill their destiny; I think some fall aside and never realize their potential when the moment of decision comes, some use their gifts in egotistical quests for dominance over others, and some hide from their destiny.

But a few who are thrust into the position of Heroism rise to the calling and humbly bear the costs. My favorite hero’s have always had to make a choice to be THAT person. As with the superhero’s Spiderman, Iron Man, Batman, Captain America, men born with the capacity to do great things but needed an inciting event to thrust the decision upon them; everyday hero’s also make a choice to heed the cause of greater good.

As a young girl, I satisfied my desire to witness heroism through the fantasy genre. Anne McCaffrey introduced me to Jaxom and Ruth in The Dragon Riders of Pern series. Jaxom was fathered by a villainous usurper, not expected to be anything but a duplicate of his father, but after being chosen by the runt dragon Ruth, the pair overcame their ddisastrousheritage with innate curiosity and a sense of integrity that consistently put them in a position to be saviors of their planet. David Eddings offered Belgarion, a farmboy born of the line of kings, gods and wizards, and when he stupidly asks the question “why me” his grandfather answers simply “who else would you trust to complete this task.”

Everyday hero’s don’t have superhuman or magical powers. Perhaps they exist to perform one task only at just the right moment and die in the attempt, or are lost in obscurity as they continue with ordinary lives. Or perhaps they make a lifetime commitment to heroism; firemen, police, soldiers, doctors and nurses.

Anyone can be a hero at any moment in their life, simply by choosing the path of empathy and integrity.

I hope you enjoyed my take on the WHO’S YOUR HERO BLOGFEST hosted by JL Campbell. Click here for the list of participants and/or to add your own name to the list and write your own post.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS: NOVEMBER RAIN

After last nights dampening of the Halloween fun (at least in my neighborhood), I thought it'd be appropriate to share the power ballad song NOVEMBER RAIN for today's Battle of the Bands post. Battle of the Bands is hosted by Stephen T McCarthy and Faraway Series; a bi-monthly competition pitting two (or more) bands doing the same song cover against each other. Visit Mr McCarthy's BotB site for a list of participants and rules (seriously, there's one or two) for participation.

In my opinion, nothing compares with the sweeping orchestra as composed by singer/songwriter/musician Axl Rose of Guns 'N Roses, originally released on the USE YOUR ILLUSION I album in June 1992. So, there's no point in even posting any number of G'N R covers. Click here to hear/watch my favorite video for NOVEMBER RAIN if interested.

That said, it was difficult to find decent covers for the song due to poor video or sound quality, and perhaps none of the top metal bands want to compete with the masters. But I was determined that this song would be my Nov 1 show case, so after hours of searching, I did find two bands that I was willing to pit against each other. Neither of the videos seem to be professionally recorded, so the quality isn't what is normally expected.

First up is Amos Lee, performing live at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on Nov 6, 2011. This got some very positive comments by viewers, including one that stated "best cover of GNR ever."





Next is a group called THE ART OF NOISE, and they are performing live at Base Rock Cafe in Karachi, Pakistan.





You be the judges. Cast your vote in the comments; and no, GNR votes do not count. This is a battle between two lesser known groups! I'll post my results with IWSG on Nov 5.