Friday 29 June 2012

Fabulous Blog Ribbon Award and Other Awesome News

Friday again eh? I hope everyone has a great weekend in spite of the freakish weather that's affecting various corners of the globe. Today I'm going to do a bit of a round-up of some stuff that I'm involved in in hopes that others will be interested too.

First though, I received the Fabulous Blog Ribbon Award from Lauren at Eclectic. Thanks! Rules as follows:

1. Post the rules on your blog.
2. Name five of your most fabulous moments, either in real life or in the blogosphere.
3. Name five things you love.
4. Name five things you hate.
5. Pass the ribbon on to five other bloggers. (Leave them a comment to notify them of their win.)


Five fabulous moments (hmm):


1. My wedding day
2. Birth of my daughter
3. Finishing a book for the first time
4. Getting a story published
5. Getting a job at my local paper (only three months, but hey)


Five things I love:


1. My family
2. Writing
3. Reading
4. Wotsits
5. Amazing blog peeps!


Five things I hate (should be fun):


1. The Disney Channel (if you've got kids you'll understand)
2. People who drop litter or cigarette ends. Especially out of moving vehicles.
3. Housework
4. Programmes in the Jersey Shore/Made In Chelsea genre
5. Spammers


Five deserving nominees: 


1. Treskie
2. Suze
3. James Anderson
4. E.J. Wesley
5. Jessica L. Foster

Now onto something much more interesting...


The effervescent Candilynn Fite has started up a brand new monthly flash fiction contest, Follow My Lead. Each month, she will post a photo and prompt and you have two weeks to post your entry. The closing date for this first contest is June 30th, so you'll have to scramble to get your story posted this time, but the good news is that from now on the contest will open on the first Friday of each month! So only a week till the next one, woohoo.

Candilynn is also offering fantastic prizes, namely books written by authors within the blogging community. For this first contest, it's End of Days by the mercurial Roland D. Yeomans, a great friend to many of us. Entries are posted directly within the comment thread, so if you want to read my attempt, jump over to Candilynn's blog and scroll down to somewhere near the bottom (not forgetting to check out all the other stupendous offerings). Loads of fun!

Next, a couple of blogfests that I signed up for recently. I'm sure that many of you are already aware of them, but if not, you might want to think about getting involved. First up it's Hookers and Hangers hosted by the ladies at Falling For Fiction. This is all about seeing how good your chapters are at grabbing the reader in the first line, and leaving them dangling at the end. Post your first lines on July 16th and last lines on July 18th. You can post as many as you want, and the first three will be judged. The five judges will each pick a winner from both categories, making a total of ten winners who will each receive a 10 page double spaced critique and a Friday Spotlight on FFF! Exciting times! Sign up here.

And looking further ahead, there's the fab-sounding "What If?" Fairytale Madness Blogfest running August 13th to 17th. Quite a lot of rules to go along with this so here's the lowdown from the horses' mouths:


Have you noticed that by changing one detail; one event, one character trait, one thought...you can completely alter the rest of the story?

For this bloghop we are exploring "What If?"
Not only do we want it to be fun, but it will hopefully be a fun writing exercise and make for some great reading during the hop!

To enter:
Think of your favorite "well known" fairytale and ask "What If…!"
Then, pick one of these four categories: (be sure to mention which category you're joining, during your blog post!)
·       Best Plot Twist
·       Best Love Story
·       Best Tragedy
·       Best Comic Relief

Finally, write a scene(s) illustrating a new detail of the 
fabled fairy tale that changes our perspective.
To recap,
Is it a plot twist? (Cinderella gets knocked up by the Carriage Driver…)
An unknown romance that comes to light? (Snow White dumps the Prince for Grumpy…)
A tragic loss occurs? (The Three Little Pigs are too late to save their house…)
A little comic relief? (Hansel and Gretel win a trip on Euro Rail, sponsored in part by M&M’s…)

Whatever the change…It's limited only by your imagination – but please keep it PG-13.
Other Rules:
·       Post your story during the week of August 13 to 17.
·       Flash Fiction – 300 WORD MAX. (You don't have to tell the whole story in three hundred words. Pick what works to illustrate your point.)
JUDGING CATEGORIES and the respective judges:
 ·       Best Plot Twist – Cassie Mae
·       Best Love Story - Morgan Shamy
·       Best Tragedy -  Leigh Covington
·       Best Comic Relief - Mark Koopmans

PRIZES!

(Prize will go to the winner of judge's sponsored category. For example, Leigh's prize goes to the winner of Best Tragedy, Mark's prize goes to winner of Best Comic Relief, etc.)

Leigh is offering: A Paperback Copy of "Save The Cat," by Blake Snyder!
Morgan is offering: A full manuscript critique!
Cassie Mae is offering: $25 Amazon Gift Card
Mark is offering: a $25 Hawaiian care package (incl. $5 USPS Priority Shipping) Winner can choose from any number of small items such as candy, trinkets, Kona Coffee, etc.


I think this will be a hoot! I'm yet to finalise the details of my story, but I plumped for Team Tragedy. I like letting out my evil side and watching my characters suffer! *rubs hands together and laughs maniacally* Go to any of the hosts' blogs to sign up and add your name to the linky list!

And last but most certainly not least, a good blogging buddy of mine, Kyra Lennon, is launching her first book, Game On, on August 6th and celebrating with a blog tour running until the 19th! I'm really excited for Kyra. If you follow her blog, you'll know she's always bubbly and upbeat and her writing itself is just as likeable. Here's the blurb for Game On:


After swapping her small town life to work for a top U.S soccer team, Leah Walker thought she could finally leave the ghosts of her past behind. However, when she meets serial womanizer, Radleigh McCoy, the memories of her old life come swarming back, and she is forced to ask herself whether she has really changed at all. 

Go and show Kyra some support in the run-up to her tour, as well as commiserations for England crashing out of Euro 2012! >:o(

That will be all... Have a good weekend everyone!

Are you participating in either of the blogfests? Following Kyra, or interested in Candilynn's contest? Anything else exciting coming up?

27 comments:

Shell Flower said...

Thanks for letting us know about these cool blog fests. I've been a little (okay, a lot) out of the loop lately, so these sound like a great way to get back into the groove.

Congrats on your award, too :)

Anonymous said...

I'll be participating in both blogfests.

It also annoys me when people throw trash out of vehicles. I've even seen people nonchalantly place cups and cans outside their door at red lights. No decency.

Congrats on receiving the ribbon.

Elise Fallson said...

If wotsits are anything like cheese curls then I'll eat me a bowl full thank you. (:

Leigh Covington said...

NICK! You're the man!!! Thanks so much for the shout-out for our blogest! LOVE IT! And WOW, so many other great ones too! I have to see if I can fit them all in. I love this stuff!

Also - congrats on the award. I definitely know what you mean about the Disney channel. I feel the same way about Nickelodeon. *sigh*

Kyra Lennon said...

Wow! Thank you very much for the huge promotion, it;s very much appreciated! I am getting a huge kick out seeing Game On Team Leah/Radleigh banners popping up everywhere lol!

I am sill debating over the Fairytale bloghop. I'd love to enter, I'm just not sure I can come up with a brilliant idea for it lol!

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Nick .. so pleased to read about the job - even if short-term .. gives you a leg in - perhaps for a more permanent one, or freelance work in the future ..

Congratulations on all your awards - well done ..

Excellent you're promoting others too ..

Enjoy the weekend .. cheers Hilary

Kim said...

Okay, since I'm on the other side of the pond, please define " Wotsits" :)
I'm planning on participating in the Hookers & Hangers blogfest, despite (because?) of the naughty name...
Have a good weekend :)

DL Hammons said...

Right now I'm only doing the "What if..." blogfest, and I'm also hosting Kyra during her blog tour. But, WRiTE CLUB will be kicking off again mid-July and I just this morning thought of my own Blogfest, so things will are gonna be getting pretty busy fast!

Suze said...

Nick, I love your responses of 'five.' They give a lovely insight into you as a person, very nice.

And thank you for the nomination! I am flattered and grateful you thought of me. Have an excellent weekend, good sir.

Nick Wilford said...

Shell - No problem. Hope you get to participate in one of them. Thanks!

Medeia - Thanks! Look forward to your entries. I try not to do anything to mess this planet up more than it already is, but I don't think that enters these peoples' heads.

Elise - Yeah, probably quite similar! Yummy.

Leigh - I can't wait for What If! And I'll definitely do Candilynn's contest again. I don't like much on Nickolodeon either except for Spongebob, which is awesome. :)

Kyra - So who is in the lead so far? There's still a bit of time for the What If, I need to mull over all the fairytales.

Hilary - Oops, should have clarified - the paper job was nearly seven years ago! Wish it was just now, though. Thanks!

Kim - They're basically cheesy puff type crisps (chips) - maybe like Cheetos? Or cheese curls like Elise said. Not good for my waistline though. See you in the fest! Yeah, the name is a bit of a giggle. :)

DL - I'm hosting Kyra too. And I might just give Write Club a go this time! I've also got a cunning blogfest idea up my sleeve - just waiting for the opportune moment!

Suze - Thank you! That cheers me up. :) Your blog is certainly fabulous. Have a great weekend too!

Treskie said...

Aw, thanks so much for the tag! :)

Stina said...

I'm away for the fairytale blogfest, but I might sign up for the hookers and hangers one.

I know what you mean about the Disney channel.

Shannon Lawrence said...

Those sound like fun blog fests! Thanks for passing them along. I may have to look at the fairy tale one.

C.B. Wentworth said...

It's always so wonderful to see your blog getting the recognition it deserves. :-)

Thanks for sharing these wonderful fiction contests. I will definitely be checking them out.

Anonymous said...

So many great bloghops... I'm joining the hookers & hangers one:) Can't wait to see your entries.

Lisa Regan said...

Congrats on the award! I am definitely doing one of these blogfests, they all look great. BTW, I don't think anything about the Jersey Shore should be televised! LOL.

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for the awesome award, Nick! Very cool of you to think of me. :)

I keep reading about the Follow My Lead fest, and it sounds like a complete blast. Definitely looking forward to reading yours (?) and other entries.

Hope you and your family have a great holiday week!

EJ

michelle said...

Wow! Thanks for the heads-up on all these fab blogfests... Bloggyville is constantly abuzz with all kinds of interesting happenings! The Fairytale Madness Fest sounds like it's gonna be crazy fun...

nutschell said...

congrats on the cool award and thanks for letting us know about all these blogfests:)
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Nicole said...

Congrats on the award. Your #4 under "Most Hated" made me chuckle. Also, thanks for the great wrap-up of future blogfests.

Charmaine Clancy said...

Wow lots of blogfests going on at the moment. These look like good ones.
And with your hates - YES to the cigarette butts - this has always irritated me SOO much, even back in the days when smoking was considered socially acceptable. Normal law-abiding citizens, who would not dream of dropping a Coke can or a Big Mac wrapper, can not seem to grasp the concept that cigarette butts are rubbish and not the same as an apple core at all! Sorry, you've roused an old passion of mine... griping.
Great post!

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

Wow, Nick, you put a of info into this post, thanks! I had to laugh at the cigarette butt thing, I don't like that either.

I am interested in the flash fiction contest, I'll be checking that out.

Have a super 4th,

Kathy M.

Nick Wilford said...

Treskie - You're welcome! :)

Stina - I didn't mind Hannah Montana sometimes, but it's all the same now and just noise. They've so run out of good ideas!

Shannon - No probs!

C.B. - Thanks. The Follow My Lead was really fun. Starts again on Friday!

T.F. - Look forward to yours too! The entries should make for interesting reading...

Lisa - Haha! It's a mystery to me...

E.J. - Thanks! No holiday for us in the UK - but I will be cheering from the sidelines tomorrow! I did enter the contest, but didn't win. I'm going to post the story on here though, to see what you guys think.

Michelle - There's always something happening, isn't there? I'm going to get my WIP out of the way then have a think about my fairytale idea.

Nutschell - No worries! :)

Nicole - If you thought Jersey Shore was bad, you need to see our UK version, Geordie Shore! Sheesh, so much orange...

Charmaine - I know, and the smoking ban hasn't been totally effective - now you have to walk past people puffing smoke in your face just to get inside shops and pubs. Particularly bad when you've got kids with you!

Kathy - Candilynn's contest starts up again on Friday. I'm glad you found something of interest!

Morgan said...

LOL to the Disney Channel comment!!!! Ha! That's my life. And thanks SO MUCH for the What If blogfest shout out. Seriously, Nick. YOU ARE AWESOME! :D

J.L. Campbell said...

Nick,
There's something for everyone in your round-up. I suspect you'll be keeping busy for a while to come.

I don't have a clue what wotsits are, but I suspect I like them too. Are those like thingummies? :)

Tara Tyler said...

wow! love your lists!
and so much detail on the fests! nice job!

Nick Wilford said...

Morgan - Lol, thanks. And you're welcome! :D

J.L. - Wotsits are cheesy puffy crisps (chips?) - thingummies might be similar!

Tara - Lol, I need the lists! If I need to remember what I'm doing I'll just come back to this post!