Finding Something Friday: I'm a Blogger of Note!

I feel pretty! Oh, so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and bright!

That's what being a Blogger of Note (or BON, as we like to say in the business) will do for you! Here's what happened:

First, scathingly brilliant blogger Becky nominated me. Then, I had to send in three of my favorite posts. To wit:

What Not To Do Wednesday on the I Thing ('cause you know grammar is one of my things)

April 1st, Not Just for Fools Anymore ('cause I couldn't leave out Sally the Crazy Dog)

Tuesday Tip: Just So You Know, I'm Taking Notes ('cause I had to throw something writerly in)

Then, I had to promise that for every day, rain or shine, up or down, in or out, I would sing at the top of my voice, a show tune from my vast repertoire.

Yeah, I know. I thought that was a little odd, too. But mine is not to question the wonderful folks over at Words of Wisdom. And I'd just like to extend a hearty welcome to any and all visiting folks who might be dropping in here today at the Hall of Fame. I hope you find something you like, and that you'll come back often for a little writer wit and wisdom, such as it is.

In fact, I was going to draw a name this morning for Accidental Cowgirl, the memoir by Mary Lynn Archibald that I'm giving away. But I think I'll wait one more day so that any of you fine folks who'd like to comment on that post will have a chance to win, too!

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some loud singing to do. (I feel charming! Oh, so charming! It's alarming how charming I feel! And so pretty, that I hardly can believe that it's real!)

Accidental Cowgirl Mary Lynn Archibald

Big happenings going on at the Hall of Fame today! Mary Lynn Archibald is dropping in with her book Accidental Cowgirl: Six Cows, No Horse and No Clue on her WOW! Blog Book tour.

As it also happens, a couple of roofers dropped in today to work, so I hope you'll excuse a couple of bang bangs here and a bang bang there. If you'd read Mary Lynn's funny memoir about her experience living at Twin Creeks Ranch, you'd laugh at this coincidence. 'Cause if there's anything I learned from reading Accidental Cowgirl, it's that it's always something. But I should let Mary Lynn tell you more...

New challenges can actually keep you youthful, but I was unaware of that when my husband and I found ourselves living on 120 acres of amazing steep land in a remote forest in Trinity County, California, trying to raise cattle.

Actually when we saw a gorgeous meadow with pretty white and caramel colored cows meandering through, it never occurred to us somehow what was involved in keeping it that way.

What we saw was a magnificent view, acres of streams, two burbling streams (with waterfalls) and a lovely two acre pond in which we would swim and laze on all the wonderful relaxed days we intended to spend at our wonderful country retreat.

Little did we know that we were poised to enter a whole new, strange and wonderful period of our lives, and an almost mystical connection with the land. Twin Creeks Ranch. Our own private Shangri-La.

It turned out that the cows we had seen went with the place. Who knew? Indeed, who knew anything about cows? Not these two fifty-something suburbanites. The whole experience was so unique and fascinating that I faithfully kept a journal the whole time we were there. I knew nobody would believe me otherwise.

We soldiered on for twelve years at the ranch, doing the best we knew how (which wasn't much) for a herd of cows we grew to love; a herd that grew from six to nearly thirty. I should mention that these were beef cattle, so the object is to raise them and then to sell them-something we found difficult to do. Ours were Polled Herefords, which most any rancher will tell you, have the sweetest nature of any cow there is.

They were sweet. We named every one: Peaches, Paco, Pansy, Curly, Hortense, Hamburger, and so on. That turned out to be a mistake as you can imagine.

They became our largest pets and our biggest worry. And then there were few other things to worry about: the flower garden; the orchard; the two ranch cats we'd inherited that, according to the previous owners, had spent their whole lives on the ranch and couldn't be moved, and the half-acre vegetable garden. Add to this that we had a four hour commute each way from home to retreat, and our retreat quickly became our home.

We were challenged, all right. We were also tired. I can't say our "Fountain of Youth" ran over, but I do know I got in a lot better shape, charging up and downhill from the house to the barn, from the barn to the pond, from the pond another half-mile to the neighbor's fence, in search of wayward cows.

The folks who owned the porperty before us, a sweet couple in their 70's who loved the animals and land as much as we did, looked fit but weary. My predecessor swore that her doctor said she had the heart of one much younger, due to altitude (2500-3000 feet) and exercise (see above). She seemed youthful and happy.

But then, she was leaving.

Mary Lynn writes about her life on the ranch with humor and pluck, but she also writes about tons of stuff that's so foreign to this Georgia gal that I was simply fascinated, page after page. I learned quite a bit about that area of our country, and quite a bit more about cows. Which may not sound exactly riveting, but honestly, I couldn't put her memoir down. Maybe because I sat there thinking, Hmmm. I'm about the same age as Mary Lynn was when she started her adventure on the ranch. And mowing the lawn is kind of an adventure for me.

Oh, I also asked Mary Lynn a writer-ly question, for those of you considering your own memoir-writing. I wanted to know how she fleshed out her book, and how she remembered those (Ker-plunk! Falling roof debris-hold on a sec-) days so well. As you read, she kept a journal. But she also researched Trinity County, with the added good fortune of having access to many first-hand accounts from local historians (from the 1960's). Mary Lynn wrote that "it really helped me in writing the historical background of the memoir, and in addition it helped me understand something about the personalities of the people who originally settled the place."

You've got to be tough, to embrace that kind of living, says Mary Lynn. As one mountain woman told her, "When the power goes out around here, we don't get upset. We just open another bottle of wine and wait till it comes on again."

And that pretty much sums it up, says Mary Lynn. But if you ask me, there's much more. So you'll want to check out her memoir, Accidental Cowgirl, here. Or snoop around where Mary Lynn Archibald blogs here or where she talks business here.

Or you know what? (Dril-l-l-l-l! Sheesh-I can't think!) Read her book for an inside view of ranching, cows, and wine. I'm giving it away to one lucky commenter. So leave a thought or two, and your email, if I don't have it. I'll draw a name on Friday (when the gutter guys are here , banging away).

Finding Something Friday : A T-Shirt and a Laugh or Two (Or 26)

For this Friday, I found a T-shirt on my front porch!

There's a good chance that the T-shirt did not exactly show up on Friday. See, I always use my kitchen door to come and go-and most folks know to come to my kitchen door. But I guess the FedEx guy (or gal) didn't feel that friendly towards me. And I suppose I also owe Sally the Crazy Dog an apology. There was something outside, after all.

Anyway, my shirt from Do the Write Thing for Nashville came in and it's just spiffy! I surely hope that Nashville is spiffy, too. The authors who spearheaded the fundraiser did a wonderful job and if you're wondering about where all those funds went, you can check it out here.

And if you need a laugh or two (or 26), you might want to zip over to this post about the Worst Children's Books...EVER, brought to you by the blog known as Slush Pile from Hell. I found it (the post and the blog) this morning while I was messing around...um, make that networking on Twitter.

Normally, Slush Pile from Hell offers up snippets from queries (and you will absolutely enjoy the daily snippet). But this post refers to a contest. And please understand, these are not actual books. They're made-up books. So don't worry that somewhere, somehow, these titles may get into the hands of little ones.

As far as my hands go, they're a little slow on the keyboard today. I've sorta got these titles stuck in my brain, thereby preventing me from doing any serious thinking. Thank goodness it's Friday.

Tooting My Horn Tuesday: Deep South Magazine on Being Polite

Dadgum it!

I meant to tell all y'all about my essay in Deep South Magazine-and remind you to vote for your favorite Southern saying in the T shirt contest. Now, it's too late to vote! But you can still check out the Southern sayings. (I sent in "Hush up," which is just about as Southern as it comes. It didn't get picked. Maybe the folks at Deep South thought I was telling them to hush up.)

Anyway, you may recall that Deep South Magazine was the Market of the Month-and I didn't waste any time sending over my essay, "Being Polite." I'd be tickled to death if you gave it a read. You can't make these things up, as they say.

Well, you can. But in this case, I didn't. When I was visiting with family last week, an argument of sorts broke out as we all remembered that evening differently. In the end, my version prevailed as the truth. Mostly. Which just goes to show, you can't put a roomful of Southerners in one place without folks making a fuss. (Coincidentally, another Southern expression I sent in.)

So, how about you? Do you have a favorite Southern saying? I'd really like to know.

Honest to Pete.

Finding Something Friday: Genres, Essay Contest and Hugs

Because I need to work on my YA manuscript today, I had editing, Chapter 7, and plot directions and themes on my mind. This Writer's Digest article on The Do's and Don'ts of Combining Genres was exactly what I needed to clear up some genre-blending questions I have. So, if you're working on a book-length manuscript, you might find it illuminating.

Because I love to win, I bookmarked this essay contest from Affordable Insurance. So far, I've come up with, oh, let me think a minute... Um, nope. Still zero ideas for this essay. But I know y'all love essays, too, and perhaps you've got a scathingly brilliant insurance topic. So, good luck with this contest!

And because I can't exactly hug all my wonderful blog readers, I thought I'd pass along Free Hugs in Sondrio, Italy. I love Cohen's Hallelujah, and I always smile when I watch this video on Youtube. So, here's my free hug to you.

I just love Finding Something Friday, don't you?

Tooting My Horn Tuesday for WOW! On Fiction and Voice

The latest issue of WOW-Women on Writing is out and it's packed-PACKED-with tons of terrific info for the fiction writer!

No matter how much I think I know, I always find more that I need to know from WOW! So I'm going to be busy reading this fine morning. Well, all except for the article on voice. But only because I wrote that article.

I had a few writer friends give me a hand with the article, and I know you'll want to see what they had to say, too. I have a feeling my regular readers will recognize a couple names...Donna, Madeline, and Beth often drop in here at the Hall of Fame. I'm so glad they pitched in their voice!

So, here's VOICE: Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are by yours truly (and friends). I hope you enjoy it-and if you have a favorite story or novel, rich in voice, share it with me here. I was so taken with one of the writers' favorites that I went straight to the library to check it out. It was a wonderful read, too. (For extra points, see if you can guess which book I checked out!)

And you know what? I kinda lied. I'll probably read my article again.

Market of the Month: Sniplits!

I didn't exactly intend to take off last week, but for some hot and humid reason, I just didn't get into the writing zone. Thank goodness, I've found a market to give me a push in the write direction. (Um, sorry. I'll wait while you finish groaning...)

Now, on to the market of the month: Sniplits! Here's a spot that's all about short stories and getting those stories out there to tech-savvy readers on the go. It's a downloadable service that offers literary as well as genre writing, so there's literally something for every reader (and writer!). You can hear stories on I-phones, I-pods, MP3 players, Blackberries...well, if it's got downloading capability, it's a fit for Sniplits.

The question you're asking now is if it's a fit for your writing. Check out their guidelines for word counts, payment, rights, and other info. You'll see that thay accept previously published works (though the pay will be lower). And don't forget to peruse the Submissions calendar to make sure that what you want to submit is open now. I think I counted six different categories open in July. You're bound to find the write stuff, right? Write.

Um, SO sorry. I should probably get a tall, cool drink and hydrate my brain cells. Or at the very least, drown those cells that keep making awful puns.

What's Over YOUR Writing Spot?

My writing spot happens to be a desk.

Oh, I might open my laptop while sitting at the kitchen table, or outside on the deck, or even in my HUGE comfy chair when the Braves are on TV. But serious creative thinking and/or writing goes on at my desk (despite what the Beneficent Mr. Hall may say). So, it's there, above and around my desk, where I've posted stuff to inspire, amuse, prod or cajole me into writing brilliance.

As I just posted my latest calendar sheet of the month, I thought I'd share. Because this simple tool (courtesy of The Verb ezine, from the genius of ReadingWriters) has made me even more brilliant (again, despite what the Beneficent Mr. Hall may say).

What I love about the calendar is that I can see, at a glance, the entire month. I can map out projects I want to tackle, making a workable time table. I check off a goal as I go-or circle a project I didn't get to and add it to the next month. By the end of the month, my pretty little calendar sheet might be a mess. But I'm always surprised at how much I've accomplished. What can I say? There's just something about goals staring me in the face every day that motivates and/or guilts me .

Plus, I always get a kick out of those monthly quotes. So, if you're having trouble organizing your writing goals, you might want to try this simple (and did I mention totally free?) calendar, still available here for download.

I'll share more "stuff over my writing spot" soon, and I'd love to hear about something over YOUR writing spot. Hahahaha! (Sorry-I just noticed one of my comic strips up there. Those Pearls Before Swine guys always make me laugh.)

Finding Something Friday: Blimey! It's Smories time!

July started with a bang! (Um, sorry. I know that was bad.)

I opened up my inbox to find an email from Smories saying that my smory, "Ondine Oxenburg is Definitely Different" is live! Here's what that means...

Smories.com is a UK website where kids tell stories. Not just any stories, of course. They're recorded telling the stories that are sent in by writers like, well, me. Right now, Smories is having a competition where the smory with the most clicks wins. But the second, third, fourth and fifth most-clicked stories win, too.

I don't usually do competitions of this nature. But watching those little Brit kids reading stories sucked me in. I'm a bit of an Anglophile, you see.

So now, "Ondine Oxenburg is Definitely Different" is one of the finalists, and a very cute Brit kid is reading my smory. And wouldn't you just know it? I'm kinda sucked into that competiton now. 'Cause I'm a bit of a contestphile, too.

Click all month long! 'Cause it'd be swell if July ended with a bang, too! (Blimey!)