So... what exactly is a Storyteller?

Did you know that a total of ten professional storytellers participated in the A to Z Challenge this year? That's like, nine more than last year. I know, because I am one of them. Also, I compiled a list of their blogs so you can go and check them out for yourself.
The A to Z challenge is all about stories. Written stories. Musical stories. Old stories. New stories. Fantasy stories. Romantic stories. Stories in pictures. Histories. As people of the word, we are all too familiar with the idea of story.
So, what am I doing here exactly with a title like that?

Let me introduce myself first. I am your friendly neighborhood A to Z minion, one of the Seven Ladies of #TeamDamyanti. My name is Csenge, I am originally from Hungary, and I am a professional storyteller. I go to schools, libraries, festivals, museums and other interesting places, and I tell stories for a living. On stage. By heart. From memory. I travel around the world, I collect new tales wherever I go, and I bring them home to my audiences.
(Okay, so maybe I hoard them like a squirrel. So what? Squirrels are cute.)
 I mostly work with folktales, fairy tales, myths, legends and epics (lots of epics). I am crazy about old stories, long stories, heroes, adventures, and imaginary places. I also tell and translate a lot of Hungarian folktales into English for international audiences.
I decided to use my time in the A to Z spotlight to talk about some of these tales, what we can do with them as storytellers, and why they are important. I am going to post every 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month, and talk about a special topic within storytelling. Today's post was only meant to be an introduction, so without any further ado, I'll announce the next theme right now:

Ladies and Gentlemen, mark your calendars and check your blog feeds, because on Wednesday, May 21st, the A to Z Blog will be taken over by...
TRICKSTERS!!!
from all around the world.

In the meantime, if you are interested in stories, you can check out my latest book, Tales of Superhuman Powers. It is a collection of 55 folktales and legends with superpowers in them - everything from telekinesis to laser eye beams (yeah, really). It started out as a bet to see if I could find at least one traditional story for every superpower on my list. The book includes four categories (physical, mental, elemental, and transitional), and 61 individual powers. It was the most fun I have ever had with research (I mentioned some of the tales in my A to Z posts both this year and last year).
If you ever wanted to be the coolest person in a room full of teenagers, I strongly suggest take a look at some of these stories.

Also, feel free to visit either one of my two blogs:

The Multicolored Diary - Adventures in storytelling. This April I filled it with folktales and fairy tales about colors, from the Azure Lion to Zaffre and Alchemy.

MopDog - The crazy thing about Hungarians... On this blog I post weird and amusing things from Hungarian culture and history. This year's A to Z ran from the Aggressive Piglet all the way to Zanzibar music. Also, the blog features a lot of gifs about puli dogs. You have been warned.

You can follow me on Twitter under the handle @TarkabarkaHolgy

Who's Ready for the 4th Annual Post-Challenge Road Trip? #atozchallenge

Who's ready for a more leisurely pace than that of April?  I am.  I think of April like Germany's Autobahn. Full speed ahead, look out! Blogger in the fast lane, get OUT OF MY WAY!  This trip, however, is a meandering journey through the list of participants, at your own pace, with your own rules, and very few expectations. Heather, Nicole and I (Tina) invite you to join us!

Tips for the road: you're in charge. Want to visit one new blog a day? Want to visit hundreds of blogs a day? No problem. You're driving. Unless you hitch a ride with a friend, which I think is a good idea. You might want to take turns driving, or playing the tunes. It's really just some friends hanging out and continuing visiting.

Some strategies you might want to try:

Visit all the blogs with your same category

Visit all the blogs whose names intrigue you

Visit all the even (or odd) blogs

Start from where you left off and keep on truckin'...

Whatever you do, don't forget that this trip is a journey, not a destination. Signing up on the linky doesn't mean you're committing to visiting ALL the blogs. All you're saying is, “I ain't done yet.” We'll have some encouraging rah rah posts along the way, and a chance for you to share your best “finds” along the road. Personally, I like those little Mom and Pop cafes that are off the beaten road, and the food is real and so is the atmosphere – so those cool but unknown blogs that need some customers!

Keep track of your finds, give us a holler if you run out of gas or need your tire changed. We're here as your guides – we've journeyed similar roads in the past! Good luck, and drive carefully.

~Tina @ Life is Good

I’m heading up the Road Trip

With A-to-Z Blogs on my mind

And Tina Downey’s with me

Plus Heather G. too, for a gnomy ol’ time.

In our rearview mirrors,

We’d like to see all of you on our Post-Challenge tracks.

The blogging skies couldn’t be any clearer.

So step on your gas pedal and don’t look back.

                                     That is…                                        

Until we tell you to pull over at our rest stops when they’re in sight!

Beep your horns if you’re hitting the road with us to visit those 2014 A-to-Z Challenge blogs that we missed in April!

My playlist for this year’s road trip is topped off with “Speed Demon” by Michael Jackson and “Cruz” by Christina Aguilera as a reminder that we can get our alphabet highway mileage in at whatever pace meets our driving preferences -- and the capacity of our gas tanks. 

~Nicole @ The Madlab Post

Roll down your windows, folks, it's gonna be a beautiful day! There's an empty highway on the horizon and I can't wait to see where it's heading!

I know I missed a TON of amazing blogs during this year's Challenge. We had over 2000 participants, of course I missed some, but now is an opportunity to hit the road and discover all the the blogs still out there, waiting to be found.

I'm in the back seat with Stormy the Weather Gnome. I've got two experienced drivers up front, Tina & Nicole, and they can't wait to get started.

For the Road Trip, Stormy and I are going to try to hit at least 20 blogs a week and tell you about a few of them in each of my posts.

That's the plan anyway, so put on some sunglasses, turn up the radio, set the cruise control, and let's get on the road!

Who's with us?

~Heather @ The Waiting is the Hardest Part

P.S As I was writing my first response comment below, I realized that I left someone out of this post.  I want to give huge props and recognition to him, and an invitation to all of you to visit an amazing blogger, Rob Z Tobor, who writes ...The Slightly Eccentric Diary of Rob Z Tobor...   He has already visited almost all the blogs.  I'm hoping he'll chime in here and let us know exactly how many.  I mean, you have to hit the road somewhere, right?  Chances are he's already visited you ;-)

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge Reflections Post 2014 #atozchallenge

The A to Z Reflections Post is a post presented on your own blog site giving the A to Z Team, the other Challenge participants, and any other readers your thoughts about this year's April Challenge.

We are looking for feedback about the Challenge. Tell us what you liked and didn't like, what worked and what didn't. If you have suggestions about making future A to Z Challenges better, this is a good time to let us know. You can highlight other bloggers who you felt did an outstanding job or direct us to specific posts that particularly impressed you or that you found to be very helpful.

In other words, we want to know how the A to Z Team did and how the Challenge worked for you. If you'd do it again, tell us why. If you would never consider A to Z again, let us know what would make you feel that way.

Please put up your Reflections post between now and Friday, May 9. AFTER your post has gone live, add the link to the Linky List. Enter the link that goes DIRECTLY to your Reflections post and not your general blog address. The list will be accessible for the remainder of this year. Be sure to grab the badge.

The list is intended for A to Z Reflections posts only. Any links to advertising sites or non-relevant posts will be removed from the list. General links added before you actually post will be removed. And remember that these posts will be directed to a diverse audience of varying ages and sensibilities so please respect others by refraining from posting obscene materials or hurtful attacks upon others. We want a productive interchange of ideas that can lead to positive innovation.

Add your link below AFTER you have posted your reflection post!