Themes That Rocked the Challenge - Elizabeth and My Little Pony Artwork

Today I welcome author and artist extraordinaire, Elizabeth Mueller! I’ve known her for many years and have seen her talented artwork. She really did something unique with it for this past Challenge.

Your theme was My Little Pony fan art – what made you choose that theme?

To be honest with you, I had already written 50% of the A to Z's posts (on writing) and scheduled them before April started. Being the hermit that I am, I had barely heard about a successful adult coloring book by a self-published artist, and I thought to myself, I can do that! I can draw just about anything, and people can color my art. Also, drawing takes less brain power and after having Babykins, my brain has been pretty mushy since.

Feeling a bit weird about where this was leading, because I typically keep my art low key, I asked my daughters what they thought about a My Little Pony fan art theme for the Challenge. I wanted to retest my skill in drawing horses (horses were my first drawing love). It turned out that they loved it, and volunteered to color them for me. You should've seen the amount of hours they dedicated!

How long did it take you to draw all those ponies?

Straight up? About three hours all squished together just to *draw* them. Not counting the coloring. Or researching A to Z worthy flower names. Or inventing the storyline. Or getting them printable worthy. (And the scheduling of the posts is a whole 'nother story.) Whew!

Which letter was the most difficult?

X was the most difficult! I searched each letter of the alphabet for flowers and then I'd comb down each one to see which sounded the best sounding name for the character. Xs didn't have much of a selection and we (yes, my daughters helped me, it was a labor of love!) had to do many searches on different sites.

Which flower was the easiest for visitors to guess?

There were many flower names that had a good number of correct guesses, but I'm thinking Zinnia won the race. I suppose that is a very popular flower.

Which flower was the most difficult for visitors to guess?

Adonis, Firethorn, and Knotweed are a tie--no one was able to guess those guys. Not very common flowers, are they?

You had a cool prize for those who made the most guesses, right or wrong – tell everyone about it.

As you said, my goal was to get as many friends to participate. Right or Wrong. It was a little party every day for us! I converted every one of the illustrations into coloring pages along with edited versions of the stories I had included in the blog posts. I did the illustration process backward: I pencil sketched them and then colored them for the Challenge before I had turned them into coloring pages. Turned out alright anyway, though.

What theme are you considering for next year?

That is something I'm still mulling over!

I bet it will be something good! Thanks again, Elizabeth.


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, and his blog can be found HERE

On The Cyber Road

I took some time to go on the Cyber Road today and scoped out some sites that I hadn't visited before. These are aimed at writers still seeking publication or who have already published and are now looking for help with becoming more than a tiny blip on the Reader Radar.

Writer's Edit.
http://www.writersedit.com/

Resources for Writers
Book Reviews
Writing Jobs Online
Opportunities for Writers: Writing Contests

Jane Friedman
Dedicated Link: https://janefriedman.com/2014/02/26/10-apps-help-stay-focused-writing/

This was a hoot! You can actually buy or get some "free" apps to help you as a writer.
Mark Twian, Victor Hugo, Will, you dudes missed out.

Evil Editor
http://evileditor.blogspot.com/

Want to see why you're not published? You might check out this site and offer up your tender prose to scrutiny.

Write To Done
http://writetodone.com/3-steps-to-driving-more-traffic-selling-more-books-or-products-via-linkedin/

I perused the site and found this article the most interesting. It's all about promoting yourself on LinkedIn--something I've neglected.


Have a great Cyber Road Trip! And Mario the Muse sends his best, but still likes "REAL" road trips the best.

Blogging memes for story-lovers

Hello there Blogging World! I hope you are keeping busy, even in the off months when there is no A to Z to turn your blog life into a crazy rush. But in case you were getting a little bit bored, I would like to introduce to you two memes that you might want to look into.

Especially if you like stories.

(We have had quite a few people participate in this year's Mythology and Storytelling sections in A to Z, which was amazing to see.)

Folklore Thursday
Folklore Thursday is a weekly meme, hosted on social media by The Witch, The Weird, and the Wonderful. People participating on Twitter and on their blogs post interesting tidbits of folklore - beliefs, customs, pictures of their favorite creatures, local legends, ghost stories, and fairy tales. Some tweets are book recommendations, and all the blogs are teeming with fairies, ghosts, Black Dogs, and all the creatures living on the other side of Reality.
If you are interested in folklore, legends, mythic fiction, fantasy, or any related topics, this is a treasure trove to dive into every week!
If you want to find out more, follow this link, or click on the #FolkloreThursday hashtag on Twitter! Hosted by @FolkloreThursday

Story Saturday
Story Saturday is also a weekly meme, started specifically for oral storytellers, and people interested in live storytelling. People use the #StorySat hashtag to talk about upcoming storytelling events, publish musings on life and work as a storyteller, and discuss stories that they are working with, or planning to tell. The hashtag was started by the #storytelling community to create a social media space where the term is used in its oral context - performance storytelling. Everyone is welcome to join who has an interest, or would like to learn more about the art form.

If you are interested in diving into the world of folklore and storytelling, check out these memes next time Thursday or Saturday rolls around.

Blog and Twitter away, story-lovers!

Trans-Neptunian Objects: The Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud, and Conspiracy Theories

Hi everyone and thanks for stopping by. I hope you are as excited as I am regarding our world and our place in it. We are truly in a new Age of Discovery as we search out the mysterious of our universe hidden since time began.

We recognize eight planets in our solar system, the furthest being Neptune which is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third-largest by mass. Beyond Neptune are what is referred to as Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNO) which include minor planets like Pluto and other rocky and icy objects that orbit our sun. 

Kuiper Belt: A disc-shaped region beyond Neptune extending from 30 – 55 astronomical units (AU). An AU is the approximate distance from the Sun to Earth, or 93 million miles. There are over a half million icy and rocky TNOs we know of so far with and close to 100,000 having a diameter of at least 100 kilometers (62 miles). There are probably hundreds of thousands more yet to be discovered along with a trillion or so comets. There are four dwarf planets that we know of. Most comets that take less than 200 years to orbit the sun are believed to be in the Kuiper Belt. 

Astronomers think the frozen objects in the Kuiper Belt may hold clues about the origin of our solar system - sort of like how fossils tell the story of dinosaurs on Earth. Scientists think the gravity of big planets like Jupiter and Saturn swept all these icy leftovers out to the edge of our solar system. 

Oort Cloud: In 1950, Dutch astronomer Jan Oort suggested that some of the comets entering the solar system come from a cloud of icy bodies, ammonia, and methane that may lie as far as 100,000 times Earth's distance from the sun. It is believed that this cloud of particles are the remains of the disc material which formed the Sun and the eight planets. 

When its inhabitants interact with stars, molecular clouds, and gravity from the galaxy, they may find themselves spiraling inward toward the sun, or cast completely out of the solar system into distant regions of space. The Oort’s Cloud extreme distance makes it challenging for scientists to identify objects within it. Comets with orbits longer than 200 years originate from the Oort Cloud and can be as far as three light years from the sun. 

Some astronomers theorize the Sun may have captured the material in the Oort Cloud from outer disks of other stars that formed in the same nebula as our star. The planetoid Sedna, discovered in 2003, is thought to reside here. 

Conspiracy Theories: There is a conspiracy theory NASA knows of a mysterious unnamed planet lurking beyond Pluto. The scientific claims were based on observations of gravitational influences on a group of space bodies termed the “extreme trans-Neptunian objects” (ETNOs) orbiting our Sun beyond the planet Neptune. It's coming our way and spells certain doom for us, but our government is keeping it a secret. Yes, there is quite a following on this one. For more on this Click Here. 

Did You Know: The New Horizons spacecraft is now heading toward the Kuiper Belt to an object named 2014 MU69 a billion miles away from Pluto, It is set to arrive in January 2019. The object is about fifteen miles wide and is small enough that it has not been modified by geologic processes and is far enough away from the sun’s influence that it likely has maintained its original composition. New Horizons will then keep going until it runs out of fuel. 

Fun Facts: Astronomers have found structures similar to our Kuiper Belt around at least nine other stars using the Hubble Space Telescope. 

My name is Stephen Tremp and I’m a writer of speculative fiction. My fourth novel, Salem’s Daughters, is set for release October 1st. To pre-order a copy for $2.99 Click Here. 

References 

Space Facts 

Space.com 

NASA

Don't Drop the Ball

Fumble!!! If you're a football fan, you've heard that cry before. We're an enthusiastic football family and it's an easy game to compare to other things in life and that includes blogging.

When you're a running back and a hole opens in the line, you have to go for it and quickly. The same with blogging. When you have an opportunity to guest on another blog or exchange links with them, take advantage of it. Opportunities can disappear in the blink of an eye if you don't react as soon as you see it.

Be a team player. A successful blog is one with lots of friends and followers. Those wonderful people leaving comments are your team. They help you and you help them back. Promote others as they promote you. Link to them when they share something you really enjoyed and they'll have your back at some later opportunity.

Pick up your teammates when they get down. If they're not blogging as often as they used to or express discouragement in their posts, tell them how much you'd miss them if they stopped. Remind them of the fun things about blogging.

Keep your eye on the ball. Why did you start blogging? What did you enjoy about it? Make sure you're don't stray from what works for you. Eye on the target.

Play with heart. Blogging is work even when you love it. Put your heart into it and enjoy this wonderful network of like-minded people.

Don't be afraid to try something different if what you're doing isn't working. Adjust and blog on!

Hope you football haters didn't cringe at the comparisons. Or the football lovers. And as an extra, I should point out that it's easy to visit blogs while you're watching football. There's always time in between plays.

If you want more football goofiness, visit my blog, Susan Says, as I use football terms for some writing motivation. On another note, there is a big announcement coming to IWSG this Wednesday. If you're a writer, you should be part of that group.

Are you ready for some football?

Art and Labor Day

First post here this summer from me and I wanted to do it before Labor Day Weekend. Why? Because the celebration of Labor Day, even though we do it at another time from almost everyone else in the world, is an important event, something we should all celebrate, because A LOT of people worked/sacrificed for all workers/us to have this recognition. Here is a little history as to why…

Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

Labor Day was promoted by the Central Labor Union and the Knights of Labor, who organized the first parade in New York City. After the Haymarket Massacre (this is worth reading about), which occurred in Chicago on May 4, 1886, U.S. President Grover Cleveland feared that commemorating Labor Day on May 1 could become an opportunity to commemorate the affair. Thus, in 1887, it was established as an official holiday in September to support the Labor Day that the Knights favored.^[1]
The equivalent holiday in Canada, Labour Day, is also celebrated on the first Monday of September. In many other countries (more than 80 worldwide), "Labour Day" is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which is observed on May 1.  (From Wikipedia)

 

What does this have to do with us as writers/artists? We are a part of this labor force, a part of what makes our economy tick, through all our trials and successes, we should acknowledge our part and celebrate with eager anticipation all that being a part of our country/economy means. Go Labor Day!!!!

And just for laughs...!

 Images from:

smilingwallpapers.blogspot.com 

nawabzade.com

www.ashland-ohio.com 

athebeach.blogspot.com 

jennysnoodle.blogspot.com

The Leisure of Summer Road Trip Visits

As I've said before, I have the hardest time choosing which bloggers to visit during the AtoZ Challenge. So many entice me with their interesting, informative or entertaining themes that I run out of time to make it to all of the ones I enjoy. 

That's why I decided to do a bit of touring this summer on the Road Trip and take a look at some I'll be sure to visit come April 2016. I'm still trying to go from Z to A on my visits (that was the plan I posted earlier this summer). Progress, however, has been slow, but Mario keeps egging me on. Wind him up and you can't slow him down. I call him my Muse on Steroids. Well, just look at his hair. Says it all, doesn't it?

Wild and Ready to Roll 

Here are bloggers I've visited recently and hope they'll sign up for AtoZ Challenge in 2016 because they post good stuff!

MainelyWrite

EcoCatLady

AndysCorner

Are you doing a more leisurely tour during these summer months? Any special plan to wrap up this beautiful last month of heat and lemonade and hammocks? How's the AtoZ Tour treated you this summer of 2015?

In Memory of the Beloved Tina Downey...

Raise a glass for Tina,

the super organized co-host from our A-to-Z Team.

Known for lending a helping hand to newbie and veteran bloggers in need.

Ever the straightforward woman, unafraid to have hard conversations, she also had a knack for fine-tuning details, simplifying complex tasks and making sure we got things done.

Tina showed us what it’s like to juggle a full load as a mother, wife, friend, daughter and writer while still finding ways to stop and smell the roses, and have fun.

The witty sign-offs in her messages were like additional reminders that kept everyone in high spirits and often made us laugh.

So it's easy to see how, without her, we've come to feel very understaffed.

It’s been one year since Tina, the kindhearted Swedish woman who many of us had the honor of getting to know, was laid to rest.

Still her memory lives on through those she loved, those she helped and the examples she set for taking on challenges in stride while still putting forth our very best.

Though Tina battled chronic health conditions, she still enjoyed campfires, quoting the movies, hiking, and a glass of Chardonnay when she could.

So today, let’s give a big toast to Tina Downey, the Sunflower-loving powerhouse who taught us that if you just keep swimming, you will find something to smile about because life is good.

Tina with her husband Neal. Photo courtesy of the Downey Family via AJ Lauer.

Katrina Mai Downey passed away August 23, 2014 at Longmont United Hospital, surrounded by her loving family. She was 49 years old. She was born August 4, 1965 in Mölndal, Sweden to Leif and Bonnie (Schnebly) Bilen. Tina spent her early childhood in Sweden, moving to Silver Spring, MD in 1974 where she competed in gymnastics and cross country. The family moved to Englewood, CO in 1983. Tina graduated from Denver Christian High School in 1984, where she played clarinet in the band and met her future husband. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, and a teaching certificate from Colorado State University in 1988. Her complete obituary can be viewed at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel and Crematory.

Characters Who Blog

Well, it's been a long hot summer (at least for those of us in Texas), and what better way to beat the heat than spending some time with a beloved fairy tale character? Let's check in with a with one of my favorite princesses as she works on her blog to pass the time. After all, she has more than enough time to herself, locked away in a tower with only a spunky chameleon for a companion. 

Let's take a sneak peek at the inner bloggings of the princess with a rope of golden hair . . . 

Well, she was certainly a sassy one, wasn't she. It's nice to see a princess with an attitude (and love of a good WiFi connection). I hope everyone enjoyed another installment of the Characters Who Blog! Have a great weekend and happy blogging!  

The Seasons of Blogging Life

After seven years of blogging, I'm starting to notice some patterns in blogging. And many of them make perfect sense.

Major holidays Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and July 4th are often family times and bloggers are too busy to be online. At least we hope so. Other holidays such as Labor Day, Memorial day and President's Day will also see some level of absenteeism in the ranks. Outside the USA are more holidays that draw people away from the blog world.

Summer is the most common time for vacations. Over the course of the months, bloggers will take a week or two off from this world just as they do the old day job. Some might do a blog slowdown for the entire summer so they might enjoy the fine weather. And since the blogging community is world-wide, not all of us have summer at the same time.

Some bloggers take a break because something needs their attention before the blog. It might be overtime at the day job, a family illness, a book that needs editing or finishing.

And many of us just need a break now and then. Can I remind you of post-April when many of us took a week or more off from blogging to recover our energy after the Challenge?

I hope that the blogging friends I've met here and on my personal blog always come back from those breaks. For the time being, I've changed my blogging schedule from MWF to MW only as I spend my hours on my newest space opera romance series.

How about you? What other reasons do people take blogging breaks for? Do you still maintain a schedule even when you slow your blogging down? Do you take holidays off from blogging?

Susan Gourley is published in epic fantasy and in romance that she writes as Susan Kelley.

A-Z Road Trip Adventures - 4 Lively Bloggers to Keep You Moving

Photo courtesy of Wojtek Witkowski

Road trips are much more enjoyable when you have the momentum to keep going for miles. Are you low on gas or have become lost while driving around through our A-Z neighborhood of blogs? Here are four destinations to help get you back on Route 26, inspired by some of most basic ingredients for a great road trip – music, interesting attractions/places to visit, food and games.

Turn your radio up….

Schoolteacher Luther M. Siler at Infinite Free Time did an A-Z challenge theme on 90s Hip-Hop music. While he blogs about different subjects including creepy childrens cartoons, this Skylights author continues to keep readers jamming to tunes from all sorts of artists.

A Road Trip itinerary for this week….

Courtney Turner at Maui Jungalow provides practical information on what it’s really like to live on a tropical island. From gardening and farming to transportation, Hawaiian culture, weather, bugs and housing, this A-Z blogger gives readers a lot more in-depth view of what’s beyond the typical tourist attractions you’d find on other travel blogs.

Let’s pull over for a picnic in the park….

Netherlands native Lisa at Basil and Oil blogs about simple recipes that you can whip up in a pinch. She survived this year’s A-Z Challenge by doing a theme on Italian cuisine and has an ongoing series called “Sweet Sunday,” where she shares lots of baked goodness such as cranberry ripple cheesecake and chocolate Guinness cupcakes. Yum!

Game On! When its play time….

Stewart Lloyd and his team at Lloyd of Gamebooks incorporated the alphabet nicely into their April blogging activities during the A-Z challenge. This blog gives viewers a front row seat to different perspectives on the industry, from interviews with zine publishers and illustrators to reviews and commentary on gamebooks apps, horror books and related material.

Have a bright and shiny weekend, everyone!

The A-to-Z Challenge Road Trip is hosted by screenwriter Nicole Ayers and author C. Lee McKenzie who’s traveling with Mario the dashboard buddy, so make sure you honk your horn or share a friendly wave to let them know you’re still on the road with us!

Themes That Rocked the Challenge – Jenn Ventures into The Twilight Zone!

Today I welcome Jennifer from Scribbles From Jenn. For the A to Z Challenge, she ventured into… The Twilight Zone!

Your theme was the Twilight Zone show – what made you chose it?

As a kid, I was babysat by my brother who loved Sci-Fi. Since we only had one TV, and he was the oldest, I watched a lot of Sci-Fi. I came to enjoy the Twilight Zone because it didn’t have a lot of scary images. It didn’t need to; it was able to scare the bejeezus out of me, in black and white, without using blood, guts or gore. Now, as a writer, I appreciate the genius of Rod Serling. Additionally, I’ve come to see Rod Serling as visionary who, over five decades ago, wrote on topics that are surprisingly relevant today.


Which letter was the most challenging?

In previous A to Z challenges X was the most challenging, but this time it was the letter S. Not because I couldn’t find a T.Z. episode to match, but because I had about fifteen to choose from. In the end I went with a cult favorite, To Serve Man, but it was a hard choice.

Which episode was your favorite?

My favorite? I can’t really say I have a favorite, I like them all!

What made V’s Valley of the Shadow unique?

Besides the fact that the Sci-Fi worlds collide in this episode when James Doohan, who also plays Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, the engineer of Star Trek (1966)'s Starship Enterprise, is the dad of one of the main characters, I think it’s the fact that in Peaceful Valley miracles seem to occur due to technology. Again, Mr. Serling was ahead of his time as today’s technology really is creating the appearance of miracles.

What’s a great episode that most people haven’t seen?

A great, but little known, episode is No Time Like The Past. In this episode scientist, Paul Driscoll, acquires a time machine and with the help of a friend decides to travel back into the recent past to alter events and remake the present. After several failed attempts, he concludes that, “the past is sacred” and returns to his own time declaring, “… instead of continuing to fixate upon the past, he will now try to do something to positively impact the future.” With all that’s going on in our world today, I think that is still great advice.

Which episode was the creepiest?

As a mother the creepiest episode for me is Long Distance Call where a toy telephone becomes the link between a young boy and his dead grandmother. After her death she calls him on the toy telephone she gave him before her death, and beckons him to come join her. What’s creepy for me is how that episode has become a parallel to today. However, it’s not a toy telephone, it’s the internet, and it’s not dead grandmothers, it’s a variety of other things often just as bad.

Ever felt like you were in the Twilight Zone?

Yes! Haven’t we all? I wonder if that, and the thought-provoking writing, has anything to do with the longevity of the series.

What theme are you considering for the Challenge next year?

I’m not sure. I only hope I find something I enjoy as much as I enjoyed my theme this year. Blogging from A to Z on the Twilight Zone made the challenge so much fun!

Thanks, Jenn! We want the Challenge to be fun.


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, and his blog can be found HERE

Some Bloggers I Want to Visit During AtoZ_2016

There are so many bloggers who come up with amazing AtoZ Themes each year that choosing just a few is darned hard. So I thought Mario and I'd do a quick trip over to these four on a test run, then do more before we wrap up our summer touring.

J.H. Moncrief always has something intriguing and sometimes on the darkish side. Chills and burrs even in August. Take a look at the cover of her book and you'll understand. We love visiting there. And we're betting she's got some great stories to share about Romania.

J. L. Campbell writes up some super romance Jamaican style. Here's her latest.

Hilary gives and gives and gives you some of the most amazing information about her part of the world and history. Sometimes she throws in accounts of her own Road Trips.

Southpaw is a generous blogger with all kinds of solid and useable information. Then she adds some more interest when she goes into stones--from amethysts to diamond to jade. And she writes cookbooks!

Can't wait to see what themes these four will come up with in 2016.

What are your favorite themes from 2015? Any ideas for 2016? What would you enjoy reading about from AtoZ?

One Blog at a Time - Simple Goals for High Mileage on the A-Z Road Trip

Photo courtesy of Geoffrey Arduini

It’s time for another pit-stop on the A-Z Road Trip. Check your tire pressure, fill up that gas tank and pack in some snacks as you continue on our highway adventure of visiting blogs on the 2015 April signup list! 

While you tune-up that browsing engine, remember the way to gaining the most mileage on this road trip is by driving in the lane that suits your ability be effective without any fuss. 

Dave Roller, who completed the April challenge at Home School Dad before transitioning over to YBD: Your Basic Dave, demonstrates that the key in making the most progress is by keeping things simple.

Rather than focus on a set number of blogs per day or week, Dave’s one-blog plan for his road trip activities call for visiting multiple posts on the same blog and then moving on to the next one. If you are looking for some ideas on how to have a more in-depth A-Z road trip experience, here is his recipe for creating maximum impact with plain and simple steps.

Visiting a new blog on the 2015 A-Z signup list and read posts in the following order...

1. Reflections post
2. An April blog post, going backwards from Letter Z to A
3. The most current blog post
4. Rinse and Repeat the cycle, starting with the reflections post on the next new blog to visit.

Having a simple plan allows you to get (and give) the most out of the A-Z road trip by visiting as many blogs as possible, at your own pace, one blog at a time. Dave’s one-blog approach is about as casual as they come while providing a chance to really dig deep into each new blog you visit and get a more well-rounded feel for what it’s all about. This is especially helpful when visiting blogs that may have done the challenge with topics that differ from what they’re normally blogging about during other times of the year.

So if you ever find yourself running low on gas in the fast lane, switching to cruise control can make your road trip activities a little easier to handle!

The A-to-Z Challenge Road Trip is hosted by screenwriter Nicole Ayers (The Madlab Post) and author C. Lee McKenzie (The Write Game), accompanied by dashboard buddy, Mario, who finds thecoolest attractions during roadside rest stops. 

Mario the Muse Contemplates His Next Road Trip

Mario had a great time in Oregon this year. He toured Ashland, sipping wine and taking in shows. He crossed bridges, strolled the beach and even coached the writer with him while she tried to bring in a decent draft.

He was one busy muse, but he held up under the rigors of travel. He not only came up with some inspiration, he took me on a car tour. It seems he's a car nut. Who knew? But he gave me an idea. If I could find a car with a name starting with X, Q and Z, I might consider this as a theme. Do you know of any X,Q,Z cars?

Here are some he fancies and says he wants to take his next trip in. Want to help him narrow his choices by telling him which one to buy?

So which one gets your vote? Since I'm the designated driver (Mario can't reach the pedals) I'm going for the canary yellow one. Raked and ready to roll.

Characters Who Blog

Yay, it's FRIDAY, the best day of the week! And what better way to celebrate it than with the first post-April installment of the Characters Who Blog series? I have a special one today, a character who takes me all the way back to my childhood. He's the man who taught us that we have everything we really need to accomplish our goals within us, we just need to realize it. 

So without further ado, take a peak behind the curtain and inside the blog of . . . 

I hope you enjoyed the blog of one of the most famous wizards in the literary world. And I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy Friday bloggers, and as always, happy blogging!

A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging at Pensuasion. 

Steve Science and Other Fun Stuff

Hot Days in the Blogging Time

Here in the US of A, we're into the Dog Days of Summer (which has to do the stars and not with

From Wikipedia

dogs suffering in the sweltering heat). This year those days characterized by humidity and late day thunderstorms, run from July 3rd to August 11th. A great time of year to spend those hot hours inside and writing. Unless you're like me and love this time of year.

I attended a great writing conference in May. On the first day of the conference, participants are offered separate choices for the lunch time speaker depending on their status as published or not. The not yet published attendees usually have a speaker that fits their needs. The published authors' speaker is nearly always someone offering advice on promotion.

This year our speaker was Jane Friedman. Jane has a great blog with lots of information for writers of all levels. She's offering a  live webinar tomorrow, July 16th on How to Blog Meaningfully and Grow Your Audience. It's pretty pricey for me (about $30/hour) but I'm sure she has lots of good ideas.

But do A to Z 'ers need to take a class on how to be a successful blogger? I don't think so. There are so many terrific bloggers in this group, all willing to offer advice and lead by example. Haven't we all heard about SEO? Don't we know including images improves our posts and the dangers of including images we don't have the rights to?

I've also seen a few bloggers worried as they take breaks from blogging because of deadlines, vacations or personal issues. Will they lose followers? Will the WWW collapse or live on if a blogger takes a week or LONGER off? I believe a blogger can take a short break, especially if they let their faithful followers know they're going to be off line for a while. And if that blogger continues to visit and comment on other blogs while they're on break, they'll keep their connections alive. Check out some info Alex J. Cavanaugh shared on Monday about blogging frequency.

Would you pay for a webinar to help your blog grow? Are you taking a blog break this summer or do you take one during another time of year? Think it's okay to do that? Do you enjoy the dog days?

Themes That Rocked the Challenge - Disasters with Author Chrys Frey

Today I welcome author Chrys Fey! Her theme came from her Disaster Crimes series, and she explored disasters that occur from natural disasters to manmade disasters.

Find Chrys - Blog, Facebook, Website, and Goodreads.

What made you choose the theme of disasters?

I borrowed the disaster theme from my Disaster Crimes series. The first book in that series is Hurricane Crimes (a short story) and the upcoming sequel is Seismic Crimes (a novel). I am currently working on book three with an all new disaster, so as you can see disasters are on my mind all the time. I was learning a lot and having fun with my research, so I wanted to share that with the AZers.


Which disaster happens most often?

I could be wrong, but I think that would be lightning storms. Places all over the world experience lightning storms and they can happen just about any time of the year. I know some people don’t consider lightning storms as disasters, but consider hundreds of strikes in one region during one storm, getting stuck by lightning, fires caused by lightning, power outages...I can go on.

Which one is the most deadly?

This is a tricky question because all of them could be deadly. And a few could be considered the most deadly. For example: eXtinction (my X disaster) and Judgement Day (based after the Terminator movies) would be the end of the world as we know it. And a Zombie Apocalypse would be the end of humanity. Funny thing is two of those are fictional disasters. So I suppose eXtinction would be the most deadly followed by war, which I discussed in my Y post, because the deadliest war (World War II) resulted in over 70 million deaths.

I’d never heard of limnic eruptions. Can you tell us more about them?

Sure. Limnic eruptions are rare natural disasters that occur when dissolved carbon dioxide erupts from deep lakes, similar to volcanic eruptions. The carbon dioxide suffocates nearby wildlife, livestock, and humans. Good thing it’s rare, huh?

What are the chances of a quasar explosion affecting Earth?

For anyone not familiar with this term, a quasar is a compact region of electromagnetic energy in the center of distant, young galaxies surrounding a supermassive black hole. Now I’m not a scientist, but galaxies are said to act as quasars only during the early stages of their lives. Although there is a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, it is considered a middle-aged galaxy and the time for a quasar to occur is probably long gone.

Which disaster surprised you the most?

Oil spills surprised me the most because it’s not a disaster I think of a lot, but the impact is huge. Specifically, the Deepwater Horizon oilrig explosion in 2010 that dumped 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf, how long it took them to cap the leak (87 days), and the fact that the Gulf still isn’t oil-free today.

How many of those disasters have you experienced? (And obviously lived to tell the tale!)

Well, let’s see...I’ve been through quite a few hurricanes and wildfires here in Florida. Those are probably the biggest disasters I’ve experienced. Hurricanes Charley, Francis, and Ivan from 2004 inspired my story Hurricane Crimes. For my Wildfire post, I share a personal story about a fire that almost took my home when I was a kid. Some disasters I’ve experienced on a smaller scale are hailstorms, floods, and lightning storms (of course).

What theme are you considering for next year’s Challenge?

I know some people will be sad and disappointed that I am saying this, but I might not participate in 2016. This past Challenge was a doozy and I still feel like I’m recovering from it. However, because I love A to Z so much, I will be doing an A-Z feature on my blog next year with 2 posts a month. As for 2017, you might see me then and I have a theme in mind, but you’ll have to wait to find out what that is. ;)

Thank you, Alex, for featuring me on the great Blogging from A to Z Challenge blog! I am truly honored that you thought my theme rocked. :D

Thanks for joining us today, Chrys!


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-Sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, CassaStorm, and Dragon of the Stars, and his blog can be found HERE

Oops!

I didn't do a very good job in meeting my Road Trip Deadline. I was sure I could post on July 1, but I was so jet lagged that I wound up face in pillow instead.

Sorry, Trippers! 

However. I'll make some amends by showing you a great game for road trips. Remember that was one of my promises for the summer. I found this game in Ireland and brought it home. This would be a great way to keep you and the kids occupied and happy. It kept my friend and me very happy during our flight.

You roll the dice, the images are your route to a story you create. Simple and fun. All you need is pie tin or other way to keep the dice from spilling and you've got several hours of fun.

Happy Road Trip. Are you thinking about what your AtoZ Theme will be next year?