Favorite Nooks

On the road today, so I'm sending out a quick little post with some of my favorite nooks and crannies from across the web - all favorite blogs of mine, that have become my frequent haunts over the last few weeks (and months, some of them):

Yearning for Wonderland:  Snarky, spleen-eating, Downton Abbey-loving, can't-remember-where-she-parked-her-Barouche-Box-and-in-which-century Anna Meade has a wonderful blog full of fairies, fiction, whimsy, yearning for yesteryear, and snark. Love this girl. You will too.

Amanda McCrina: Poli Sci student, movie aficionado and soon-to-be published author, Amanda writes concise, thoughtful posts on a host of topics. Having been privileged to be one of her beta readers for His Own Good Sword, I can also vouch for her giftedness as an insightful and incisive writer. Look for more about this savvy lady on my site in the coming weeks as she approaches her May publication date.

The Surly Muse: Keep Daniel Swensen's blog on speed dial for insightful articles and some of the most original flash-fiction I've ever read. (Don't believe me? Check out this one. Or maybe my personal favorite over here.) He writes phenomenal longer works too, as this happy beta-reader can tell you. Wish you could read them for yourselves...hopefully you will, and soon.

Going for Coffee: I wish I did live close enough to meet this gal for coffee in person. Jo-Anne Teal is one of the kindest, encouraging, most sweet-hearted writers I've met since joining Twitter*. Her blog exudes her natural sweetness and sincerity, and her flash fiction - though entirely hers and in that same calm tone - carries an extra edge that will surprise you at every turn. Go for coffee at her blog and sip some of her writing - you won't be disappointed.

Kristen Lamb: I discovered Kristen's website just the other day, and let me tell you: Kristen Lamb is sharp. She knows the publishing business. She's made mistakes and learned from them. Nor is she afraid to tell you about them, or which side of the prickly Mistake Fence you've fallen on. This lady has a LOT to share - including some great writing, the #MyWANA hashtag - and even some morbid hints about The Pants of Shame.**

* No, I was not paid to say that --- I mean it whole-heartedly! Seriously.

** Not for the faint of heart. Trust me.

Enjoy these stellar blogs - and then join them! Follow these savvy people on Twitter.

Then enjoy the knowledge that your Coolness Quotient just went through the roof.

You're welcome. :-)

Caffeine Rush

It is after 2am and I am still glued to my keyboard. I have been writing a monster email/FB post for the last hour, trying to explain to my friends why I am dropping the sprawling village of Facebook in favor of Twitter, this blog, and focusing on my manuscript.

It was hard. Not because I didn't have good reasons - I have a list a mile long - but because I realized what a huge turning point this is for me. I am reformatting my life as we speak, and it is both exciting and daunting. Essentially I have come to my playing field, faced with my appointed "pitch and toss" game of life, that Kipling spoke about:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss...

To do so, I need both hands (electronically speaking), and make the most of my opportunities at the keyboard amidst my three jobs and all the responsibilities that come with them. I'm making adjustments financially, schedule-wise, and in many other ways to make sure I do what it takes to make this - both the jobs and my novel - happen.

I could fluff on about this some more, but I am dead tired. Tomorrow (today?) may be one of those wacked-out school days where I teach class (and quarter exam reviews, no less) on diminished sleep and lots of coffee.

LOTS of coffee.

And if I'm lucky, I might even make sense. Or at least be somewhat entertaining. (My students could tell some stories on me....)