tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80448554131859299022024-03-05T09:51:28.712-05:00Merry-Go-Round Blog TourAn on-going blog tour of members of the writing forum Forward Motion Writers.Alex F. Faylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18022651737419719876noreply@blogger.comBlogger426125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-41275974976429275112016-05-18T12:57:00.000-04:002016-05-18T12:57:47.577-04:00We All Have to Start Somewhere: May Merry-Go-Round Blog Post<div style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 24.375px; margin-bottom: 1.625em;">
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Whoa! Interesting topic. I published my first book, The Bad Seed, in 2012 and I haven’t gone back to look at it since. I’m a little nervous. Here’s the first page.</div>
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<em style="color: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">The front and back doors burst open in an explosion of sound. Willa turned to look, her eyes wide and mouth open, knife still in hand, as men in black burst into the kitchen from the back hallway and from the living room. </em></div>
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<em style="color: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">In shock and hardly breathing, she stood in front of the stove with the knife in the air. They were all shouting, “Drop the knife! Drop the knife! Drop it!” She finally regained enough presence of mind to drop the knife. One of the men came rushing at her from the morning room, around the kitchen island and pushed her to the floor. Before she knew it, he had a knee in her back and both hands pulled painfully behind her. The handcuffs were tight and cold. </em></div>
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<span style="color: inherit; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.625;">Read more <a href="http://wp.me/p6LAko-Ht" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kindred Spirits released March 14th! I'm
so excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kindred-spirits/id1092729042?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Spirits-Brown-Connie-Cockrell-ebook/dp/B01CWAJFWY"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kindred-spirits-connie-cockrell/1123521378?ean=2940152918946"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes
and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/kindred-spirits-33"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/621897"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://gumroad.com/conniecockrell"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gumroads</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> or </span><a href="https://www.chatebooks.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=Connie%20Cockrell"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chatebooks</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see
all of my books on </span><a href="http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. If you've read any of my books, please drop a review on the
site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book rankings each
vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The
Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion
(http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world
from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all
stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different
to enjoy. Check out the rest of the tour starting at <span style="color: #0000ee;"><u>http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/embrace-the-change/</u></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-87214456736440513862016-04-18T02:00:00.000-04:002016-04-10T18:57:26.904-04:00Favorite Conventions or Events: Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYvrhuUdhyphenhyphenVgNcoZ1Mnvd3HaNne8BCg2AmHCInCCbSoXwhZCY3CU2AOFZGPkg9BHvqARwMGeC5isO-WtIMM9HEYRs5YAkZYWj2yXtUsD8EhEm6btOzyUdBlFoORhOFhdla8qbio3Jnlo/s1600/Book+Fest048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYvrhuUdhyphenhyphenVgNcoZ1Mnvd3HaNne8BCg2AmHCInCCbSoXwhZCY3CU2AOFZGPkg9BHvqARwMGeC5isO-WtIMM9HEYRs5YAkZYWj2yXtUsD8EhEm6btOzyUdBlFoORhOFhdla8qbio3Jnlo/s320/Book+Fest048.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Payson Book Festival 2015</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was about to say I've only ever been to one convention but then re-read the rest of the prompt. I can include National Novel Writing Month (NaNo). Not mentioned might also be Book Festivals. Well now, I think I have something to talk about.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Let me talk about my only convention. That was the In'DTale convention in September 2015. I went with a Romance author friend and I had a blast. First of all, there's all the excitement of talking to other authors. They get it when you say you're worried you can't figure out the ending. They also have all kinds of great tips and tricks for writing, for marketing and promotion, and for, well, everything. There's a lot of learning going on as well. There were workshops scheduled all day. I went to one titled How to put more Sex in your Book. It was a romance convention after all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Read More <a href="https://www.blogger.com/I%20was%20about%20to%20say%20I've%20only%20ever%20been%20to%20one%20convention%20but%20then%20re-read%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20prompt.%20I%20can%20include%20National%20Novel%20Writing%20Month%20(NaNo).%20Not%20mentioned%20might%20also%20be%20Book%20Festivals.%20Well%20now,%20I%20think%20I%20have%20something%20to%20talk%20about.%20Let%20me%20talk%20about%20my%20only%20convention.%20That%20was%20the%20In'DTale%20convention%20in%20September%202015.%20I%20went%20with%20a%20Romance%20author%20friend%20and%20I%20had%20a%20blast.%20First%20of%20all,%20there's%20all%20the%20excitement%20of%20talking%20to%20other%20authors.%20They%20get%20it%20when%20you%20say%20you're%20worried%20you%20can't%20figure%20out%20the%20ending.%20They%20also%20have%20all%20kinds%20of%20great%20tips%20and%20tricks%20for%20writing,%20for%20marketing%20and%20promotion,%20and%20for,%20well,%20everything.%20There's%20a%20lot%20of%20learning%20going%20on%20as%20well.%20There%20were%20workshops%20scheduled%20all%20day.%20I%20went%20to%20one%20titled%20How%20to%20put%20more%20Sex%20in%20your%20Book.%20It%20was%20a%20romance%20convention%20after%20all.%20Then%20there%20were%20the%20after-hours%20parties%20where%20we%20could%20get%20to%20know%20each%20other%20better.%20I'm%20still%20emailing%20and%20facebooking%20many%20of%20the%20women%20I%20met%20at%20that%20event.%20Definitely%20worth%20the%20money.%20Then%20there%20is%20National%20Novel%20Writing%20Month.%20(NaNo)%20I%20did%20my%20first%20NaNo%20in%20November%20of%202011%20and%20while%20I%20didn't%20get%20into%20the%20forums%20on%20that%20site%20too%20much,%20I%20did%20look%20at%20the%20forum%20for%20Arizona%20Elsewhere.%20This%20is%20the%20spot%20for%20us%20Arizona%20authors%20that%20don't%20live%20in%20one%20of%20the%20big%20cities.%20Here%20I%20met%20a%20lot%20of%20cool%20people%20and%20was%20invited%20to%20join%20their%20usual%20home,%20the%20Forward%20Motion%20writer's%20group.%20I'm%20so%20glad%20I%20did.%20There%20was%20and%20still%20is%20a%20lot%20for%20the%20new%20author%20to%20learn%20and%20this%20group%20really%20helped%20me%20along%20the%20new%20author%20path.%20I%20haven't%20missed%20a%20November%20NaNo%20or%20the%20Camp%20NaNo's%20that%20have%20been%20held%20since.%20These%20are%20ready%20made%20groups%20ready%20to%20commiserate%20with%20your%20writer's%20block,%20your%20search%20for%20just%20the%20right%20word%20or%20your%20lack%20of%20motivation%20for%20the%20day.%20%20Finally,%20let's%20talk%20about%20Book%20Festivals.%20There%20was%20nothing%20in%20my%20area%20for%20book%20festivals.%20There%20were%20art%20festivals,%20art%20walks,%20art%20shops%20and%20art%20auctions%20but%20nothing%20for%20writers%20and%20I%20knew%20there%20was%20a%20writer%20community%20here,%20I%20just%20didn't%20know%20where%20they%20were.%20So%20I%20decided%20to%20start%20a%20book%20festival.%20Talk%20about%20high%20energy.%20We%20held%20our%20first%20one%20last%20year%20in%20Payson,%20AZ%20and%20it%20was%20a%20huge%20success.%20People%20came%20in%20the%20morning%20and%20stayed%20all%20day%20they%20were%20having%20such%20a%20good%20time!%20We'll%20be%20holding%20it%20again%20this%20year,%20July%2023rd,%20at%20the%20Gila%20Community%20College.%20This%20was%20a%20fantastic%20opportunity%20for%20the%20authors%20to%20meet%20readers%20and%20create%20interest%20not%20only%20in%20their%20own%20books%20but%20in%20reading%20in%20general.%20I%20am%20so%20glad%20I%20dragged%20others%20into%20my%20mad%20plan.%20One%20of%20these%20days%20I'm%20going%20to%20go%20to%20a%20SciFi%20convention.%20The%20Phoenix%20ComiCon%20is%20just%20down%20the%20highway%20after%20all!%20I%20can%20hardly%20wait.%20Kindred%20Spirits%20released%20March%2014th!%20I'm%20so%20excited%20about%20it.%20You%20can%20buy%20it%20and%20my%20other%20books%20at:%20Apple,%20Amazon,%20Barnes%20and%20Noble,%20Kobo,%20Smashwords,%20Gumroads%20%20or%20Chatebooks%20today!%20%20You%20can%20also%20see%20all%20of%20my%20books%20on%20http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/.%20If%20you've%20read%20any%20of%20my%20books,%20please%20drop%20a%20review%20on%20the%20site%20where%20you%20bought%20it.%20It's%20a%20big%20help%20to%20me%20in%20the%20book%20rankings%20each%20vendor%20uses%20to%20promote%20the%20books%20on%20their%20sites.%20Thanks%20in%20advance.%20%20The%20Merry-Go-Round%20Blog%20Tour%20is%20sponsored%20by%20the%20website%20Forward%20Motion%20(http://www.fmwriters.com).%20The%20tour%20is%20you,%20the%20reader,%20traveling%20the%20world%20from%20author%E2%80%99s%20blog%20to%20author%E2%80%99s%20blog.%20There%20are%20all%20sorts%20of%20writers%20at%20all%20stages%20in%20their%20writing%20career,%20so%20there%E2%80%99s%20always%20something%20new%20and%20different%20to%20enjoy.%20Check%20out%20the%20rest%20of%20the%20tour%20starting%20at%20http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/favorite-conventions-2016-merry-go-round-blog-tour/" target="_blank">Here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kindred Spirits released March 14th! I'm so excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/kindred-spirits/id1092729042?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindred-Spirits-Brown-Connie-Cockrell-ebook/dp/B01CWAJFWY"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kindred-spirits-connie-cockrell/1123521378?ean=2940152918946"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/kindred-spirits-33"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/621897"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://gumroad.com/conniecockrell"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Gumroads</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> or </span><a href="https://www.chatebooks.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=Connie%20Cockrell"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Chatebooks</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see all of my books on </span><a href="http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/my-books-and-other-published-work/</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">. If you've read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. Check out the rest of the tour starting at <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/favorite-conventions-2016-merry-go-round-blog-tour/">http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/favorite-conventions-2016-merry-go-round-blog-tour/</a>.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-36115565848983426102016-03-18T02:30:00.000-04:002016-03-18T02:30:20.054-04:00Cover Art Inspirations: Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtImywexyNZOnmsb53NcjJZ_2fdcb6DopjxeOhQf2xYSfjeiQgAqYdadkZIs-_nIAIuoCEvTZNBGUsTLXPdbBvsCQaV1v5622Jc2AMpQ6FOVXC4Q7tBHdwZA1AnVQDvB0Np7UB3oGpcvk/s1600/Mystery+at+the+Fair+New+Cover2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtImywexyNZOnmsb53NcjJZ_2fdcb6DopjxeOhQf2xYSfjeiQgAqYdadkZIs-_nIAIuoCEvTZNBGUsTLXPdbBvsCQaV1v5622Jc2AMpQ6FOVXC4Q7tBHdwZA1AnVQDvB0Np7UB3oGpcvk/s320/Mystery+at+the+Fair+New+Cover2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Cover art is such a personal thing, isn't it? For me, cover art that screams SciFi will draw me in any time. Spaceships seeming to scream through space, exploding planets, people adrift in space in space suits. Oh yeah, that's the stuff. But what about other genre's. I read widely, what attracts me to those other stories?</div>
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I'm not sure I can answer that. I'd off-handedly say the covers have nothing to do with it but marketers will statistically prove me wrong. I like adventure, spy stories, mysteries, even the odd western will catch my eye. Was it the cover or the back cover blurb? Many will say I was drawn in by the cover art.</div>
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But cover art, now that's an arcane wizardry. Last year I wrote my first cozy mystery. I mostly do my own covers so I did a search on Amazon for cozy mysteries and found a mix of cartoon characters and English cottage gardens as covers. I shrugged. Neither of those were what I wanted for a cover that evoked Arizona, serious, or murder. The book was called Mystery at the Fair.</div>
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To read more click <a href="http://wp.me/p6LAko-Fb" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion
(http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world
from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all
stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different
to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out
the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: L.C.
Aisling.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-29005929075705633082016-02-18T02:30:00.000-05:002016-02-18T02:30:05.400-05:00My Writing Origin: Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkIJoUEvbtb7X4HekJmmbSULfw8n1rFof6_9daxFtPmBbK4nZ6C4wsF-zy4g7ENYKHNsNcRG1dSeJT_2ORkby7wBNHeWMBZNoDItisHQCCUBQjxOHKK0Ks_drLcqqmkFYJ-4gzyzKXQY/s1600/Owl_using_Computer_by_RedPigeon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPkIJoUEvbtb7X4HekJmmbSULfw8n1rFof6_9daxFtPmBbK4nZ6C4wsF-zy4g7ENYKHNsNcRG1dSeJT_2ORkby7wBNHeWMBZNoDItisHQCCUBQjxOHKK0Ks_drLcqqmkFYJ-4gzyzKXQY/s320/Owl_using_Computer_by_RedPigeon.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Owl Using Computer by Red_Pigeon via DeviantArt.com</td></tr>
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This month's topic is an origin story. How did I start writing? I've always written. Stories for school, a play when I was 13 that the school actually let me produce, fits and starts at books as an adult. The problem was I never knew how to get past the first couple of chapters.</div>
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That all changed in 2011. My daughter Elizabeth had moved in with us while she re-evaluated her life, and made friends with a lovely young woman, <a data-mce-href="http://jamieraintree.com/" href="http://jamieraintree.com/" style="color: #1b8be0; font-stretch: normal; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: 1.625; text-decoration: none;">Jaime Raintree</a>. Jamie is an author and she told Elizabeth about this writing challenge called National Novel Writing Month. She was going to participate and encouraged Elizabeth to do so as well.</div>
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Elizabeth told us about this challenge. "Write everyday, 1667 words a day, and you'll win the challenge. I'm going to do it."</div>
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"How hard can that be," I asked. I should have realized right then that karma was about to give me a boot.</div>
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"Hard, mom. If you think it's so easy you should do it."</div>
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Well, challenge issued and accepted.</div>
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Read more <a href="http://wp.me/p6LAko-E7" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mystery at the Fair released July 15th! I'm pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mystery-at-the-fair/id1026422466?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books/book-detail-page?ie=UTF8&bookASIN=1515050491&index=default&parentASIN=B011P3POYW&tabName="><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mystery-at-the-fair-connie-cockrell/1122425588?ean=2940152065640"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mystery-at-the-fair"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, or </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/564549"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see all of my books on </span><a href="http://www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, Books tab. If you've read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: L.C. Aisling. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-37909991805843744612016-02-02T19:28:00.003-05:002016-02-02T19:28:39.314-05:00An origin story over the yearsI didn't really think I had an origin story, a single moment I could point to and say, "This is when I became a writer." To see why that <i>is</i> my origin story, check out the <a href="http://www.erinmhartshorn.com/my-origin-story/">full post on my blog</a>.Erin M. Hartshornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266817608093831779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-63199598550456101282016-01-18T02:30:00.000-05:002016-01-18T02:30:10.873-05:00January: Time to set some goals<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Goals! Of course. It's the start of the year and yep, I do have a list of things in mind to help guide myself along my writer's course in 2016. You'll note that I'm only talking about writing goals. I could put a lot of other goals in here but that would lead to chaos. Let's just stick to the writing goals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">1. Goal: Start an author interview post on my website for 2X per month.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Note: I began this process in November when I put out a call for authors who'd like to be interviewed. I posted the first interview on January 13th, one of our own Forward Motion authors, B. C. Mathews. I loved how she answered the interview questions. You can see that interview <a href="http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/2016/01/author-interviews-b-c-matthews/">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">2. Goal: Submit stories to newspapers/magazines about my appearances before and after each appearance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> The thinking here is that this goal is one of several to help me increase my readers. It's hard for most readers to find new authors. This is one way I can help increase my visibility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">3. Goal: Publish 6 books in 2016: See the rest <a href="http://wp.me/p6LAko-Dk" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">How about you? Do you have a few goals for 2016? What's driving them? I'd love to hear your comments.</span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mystery at the Fair released July 15th! I'm pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mystery-at-the-fair/id1026422466?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books/book-detail-page?ie=UTF8&bookASIN=1515050491&index=default&parentASIN=B011P3POYW&tabName="><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mystery-at-the-fair-connie-cockrell/1122425588?ean=2940152065640"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mystery-at-the-fair"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, or </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/564549"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see all of my books on </span><a href="http://www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, Books tab. If you've read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: Jean Schara. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-5257160948823661282016-01-05T13:30:00.000-05:002016-01-10T16:13:33.241-05:00Goals to Start the New Year: 2016 Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour<img src="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/wp-content/35$UE/2016/01/2016-Merry-Go-Round-Blog-Tour-300x188.jpg" alt="2016 Merry Go Round Blog Tour" height="188" style="float: left; margin: 15px;" width="300" />Goals are interesting things with a mutable nature. When I first set out goals for myself each year, it was easy. Whether I made them or not, I had something to strive for and I could always tweak them as needed.<br />
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All that changed when I gained readers.<br />
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Trust me, I'm not complaining one bit. I love having readers. Knowing someone is waiting for the next in each series is better motivation than a random, mutable goal.<br />
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However, it also means my goals have more weight, and I have to think about them a lot more. I can't just toss some ideas into the air and run with it. My goals have to line up with the expectations of my readers and my long-term plans as an indie author.<br />
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Read more on <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/goals-to-start-the-new-year-2016-merry-go-round-blog-tour/">Tales to Tide You Over</a>Margaret M. Fiskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-69635360599643388862015-12-30T22:37:00.000-05:002015-12-30T22:39:31.063-05:00MGR: December–year in reviewIt was a busy year.<br />
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Grandbaby in February. New kitchen floor, gas range, washer and dryer in May. We bought a canoe, used it, and went on wilderness camping trip. And as usual there was golf league and art class. <br />
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Read about the rest, including a good year of writing, at <a href="https://bonniers.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/mgr-december-year-in-review">Cowgirl in New England</a><br />
Bonniehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07895569211498067204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-29138443520484554832015-12-19T03:30:00.000-05:002015-12-19T03:30:00.876-05:00MGR Tour: 2015 ConclusionsIt's that time of year. We're looking at how we did in achieving what we said we were going to achieve back in January. <a href="http://jeanschara.com/randr/2015/12/19/mgr-tour-2015-conclusions/" target="_blank">Check out how I did here</a>.Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805501348812702651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-14929200405754165442015-12-18T04:00:00.000-05:002015-12-18T04:00:01.724-05:00Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: Conclusions<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Goals? Arrggh, I haven't looked at my goals since May, I think. Let's see what I've accomplished and what I haven't.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So much has happened to me this year I really need to think about what is new and what isn't. I'm including May's status first, then my current status.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">1. Goal: Upgrade my blog site to a real website<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MAY: The blog is half transformed. If you look for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/" style="font-stretch: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; border: none windowtext 1.0pt; color: #5388b4; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">www.conniesrandomthoughts.com</span></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222;">, you'll find it but I'm having trouble getting into it from the Wordpress side. I also want to dress it up better. Many of the cool things I had on my blog did not transfer over to the web site. I have to figure all of that out. Stay tuned.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">DECEMBER: The blog is now a website. I seemed to have lost all of the wordpress followers, maybe not but I am signing up new followers so that's a good thing. Goal achieved.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br /><span style="background-color: white;">Read more <a href="http://wp.me/p6LAko-BB" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, 2015 was a year mostly successes! Three goals were not achieved but progress was made on them so I don't feel too bad. How about you? Did you have a few goals for 2015? How did you do? What would you do differently? I'd love to hear your comments.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mystery at the Fair released July 15th! I'm pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mystery-at-the-fair/id1026422466?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books/book-detail-page?ie=UTF8&bookASIN=1515050491&index=default&parentASIN=B011P3POYW&tabName="><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mystery-at-the-fair-connie-cockrell/1122425588?ean=2940152065640"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mystery-at-the-fair"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, or </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/564549"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see all of my books on </span><a href="http://www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, Books tab. If you've read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: Jean Schara</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-71249666921820730692015-12-06T02:25:00.000-05:002015-12-06T02:25:23.079-05:00The End Is Nigh…The Year End Assessment That Is: 2015 Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour<img alt="2015 Merry Go Round Blog Tour" src="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/wp-content/35$UE/2015/01/2015-Merry-Go-Round-Blog-Tour-300x188.jpg" height="188" style="float: left; margin: 15px;" width="300" />This time of year is both something I dread and cherish.<br />
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The cherish is easy. I get to see my extended family including my son who has grown up and moved to another state, and of course, there will be pies ;).<br />
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The dread is also pretty easy.<br />
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I start the year with grand plans, strategies that attempt to survive first contact with the enemy, in this case Father Time. At the end of the year, I have to evaluate the success of those strategies, identify where and when strategy devolved into tactics and further into a desperate scramble. Sure, some might have survived the year, but any that didn’t require reassessment before I set out my 2016 plan.<br />
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Some things that went wonderfully…and others were mixed.<br />
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Publishing<br />
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I released a new book in all three of my series:<br />
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Read more on <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/the-end-is-nigh-the-year-end-assessment-that-is-2015-merry-go-round-blog-tour/">Tales to Tide You Over</a>Margaret M. Fiskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-71656752626495915992015-12-02T21:46:00.003-05:002015-12-02T21:46:43.049-05:00The best-laid plansOr why I didn't get done the things I thought I would this year, but am still pleased with the results. Check out <a href="http://www.erinmhartshorn.com/and-in-conclusion/">the full post</a> on my blog.Erin M. Hartshornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07266817608093831779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-3177890163142517552015-11-19T04:00:00.000-05:002015-11-19T04:00:05.736-05:00MGR Tour: Favorites of 2015I listed a few of my <a href="http://jeanschara.com/randr/2015/11/19/mgr-tour-2015-favorites/" target="_blank">favorites from all venues for 2015</a>. Come see what I liked and share what you liked throughout the year.Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805501348812702651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-53701909576147445042015-11-18T03:00:00.000-05:002015-11-18T03:00:13.395-05:00Merry Go Round Blog Spot for November: What's New in 2015?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH5JGMDoLFyKAU5DGpGE24mlXyj7xVaa-PctOjNrauSNZGBa-yMth3W9qUlSJg1DEZmRcn5qp7ZIoar3LJ9k7oRjcvx7PteVzfJPL-f7usXt7V79c-QbuySF9rKWGbnYnf99NqCq9XcE/s1600/Canada004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUH5JGMDoLFyKAU5DGpGE24mlXyj7xVaa-PctOjNrauSNZGBa-yMth3W9qUlSJg1DEZmRcn5qp7ZIoar3LJ9k7oRjcvx7PteVzfJPL-f7usXt7V79c-QbuySF9rKWGbnYnf99NqCq9XcE/s320/Canada004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nettle Pod 2015 by Randy Cockrell</td></tr>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh my! New stuff! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So much has happened to me this year I really need to think about what is new and what isn't.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One thing that is new is my love of a new to me author, Nevada Barr. I started writing cozy fiction last year and published my first work this year. See the subtle nudge at the end of this post. Anyway, my brother-in-law lent me his collection of Nevada Barr stories set around her protagonist Anna Pigeon. I love this series. First of all Anna Pigeon is my kind of gal. She loves the outdoors, fancy dress is not for her and to be honest, she likes her cat better than most people. What is not to love? I've read mystery stories for years, starting with Miss Marple stories by Agatha Christie. Anyway, I thought it was time to read some newer stuff. There is SO much out there and to be honest, I love it all. Anyway. If you're looking for some new mystery fiction, check out Nevada Barr.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Other new stuff? I don't know. I rarely listen to music anywhere. If I do, it's in the car and I live in a remote area. The local stations play oldies. When in the car, we have satellite radio and listen to, wait for it, oldies. Actually channel 32, soft rock. Of every station available on the satellite radio, what we ended up listening to was channel 32. Sigh. Sometimes you just have to go with your favs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Food. I'm a food adventurer. I love trying all sorts of food. Unfortunately, I haven't been anywhere that's offered me a new taste sensation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On a positive note I do try new blogs all the time. I have my favs and many of them are industry favorites. However, I do read some that are unique and interesting to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One is https://talainsphotographyblog.wordpress.com/ I love the simplicity of this blog. He posts pictures. Birds, butterflies, flowers. Restful and peaceful. This is a wonderful blog. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another blog, one that may be considered an industry fav is <a href="http://kriswrites.com/business-rusch-publishing-articles/">http://kriswrites.com/business-rusch-publishing-articles/</a>. Kristine Rusch publishes a lot of stuff, free fiction, this business blog, all sorts of other things. What I love is how wide ranging her blogs are. Business, art, personal, there is a blog for everything. Especially the business blog posts. If you are serious about becoming the writer you've always wanted to be, this is just one of the blogs you need to follow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another is <a href="http://goanwiki.com/">http://goanwiki.com/</a>. I love this blog. The food from a specific part of India and with a family story with each recipe. How awesome is that? For me the major draw is that many of the recipes are naturally gluten-free and those that aren't can be made so quite easily. This is a wonderful blog for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For me, 2015 was a year of discovery and adventure. I hope it was for you, too. Let me know in the comments what was a discovery for you. A new recipe? A new favorite vacation spot? A new band? Shout it out. I'd love to hear about it and try it out for myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mystery at the Fair released July 15th! I'm pretty excited about it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mystery-at-the-fair/id1026422466?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books/book-detail-page?ie=UTF8&bookASIN=1515050491&index=default&parentASIN=B011P3POYW&tabName="><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mystery-at-the-fair-connie-cockrell/1122425588?ean=2940152065640"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mystery-at-the-fair"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, or </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/564549"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see all of my books on </span><a href="http://www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, Books tab. If you've read any of my books, please drop a review on the site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance. </span></div>
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The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: Jean Schara</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-51837287281932182562015-11-05T21:30:00.000-05:002015-12-06T02:25:31.902-05:00A Few of My Favorite Things from 2015<img alt="2015 Merry Go Round Blog Tour" src="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/wp-content/35$UE/2015/01/2015-Merry-Go-Round-Blog-Tour-300x188.jpg" height="188" style="float: left; margin: 15px;" width="300" />When I read this topic, what immediately came to mind was the song from Sound of Music, hence my title.<br />
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Choosing favorites is one of the worst jobs in the world because you’re not really choosing favorites if you’re doing it right. Everything I enjoyed this year is a favorite or I wouldn’t have enjoyed it, and as in the song, there are so many favorites small or large that no single post could cover them.<br />
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A lot of my favorite things are nature-oriented such as delighting in the strength of the trees in my neighborhood (it was newish when we moved in 10 years ago, so the trees took a bit to grow), especially now with them displaying their fall colors. I love the way there is snow on the mountains in all four directions as much as it hints at a hard winter because we need the water and there’s something magical about the crisp snow air.<br />
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Those above are the easy ones. With things like books, movies, etc., it depends on my mood. Here are some of the ones that come to mind today, though a different group might float to the top tomorrow:<br />
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Read more on <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/a-few-of-my-favorite-things-from-2015-2015-merry-go-round-blog-tour/">Tales to Tide You Over</a>Margaret M. Fiskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-6956469205412566932015-10-19T14:30:00.000-04:002015-10-19T14:30:00.355-04:00MGR Tour: InfluenceJoin me this month while I discuss <a href="http://jeanschara.com/randr/2015/10/19/mgr-tour-influence/" target="_blank">writers who have influenced me</a>.Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805501348812702651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-2999807592032220662015-10-18T06:00:00.000-04:002015-10-18T06:00:03.032-04:00Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: How my Favorite Authors Have Influenced Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last month, we talked about my favorite genre being Science Fiction. I read a lot before then but other than Gone With the Wind, which I first read at twelve, I don't remember any of the stories. I was a regular at the classroom library and the school library, but there was no lasting impression.</div>
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What did impress me was that box of books I mentioned last month. Notable in there were books of short stories by Robert Heinlein and Issac Asimov. I fell in love with Heinlein's, Podkayne of Mars, and Asimov's robot stories. In high school, I dove into the much larger science fiction section. There I found Arthur C. Clarke and Ursula LeGuin. As a young adult, I found C.J. Cherryh and Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon.</div>
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Read more of this post <a href="http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/2015/10/merry-go-round%E2%80%A6vorite-authors/" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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The
Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion
(http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, traveling the world
from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all
stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different
to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out
the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: Jean Schara</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-26710730605581314422015-10-05T13:00:00.000-04:002015-10-07T01:12:56.848-04:00Authors Who Have Influenced My Writing<img src="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/wp-content/35$UE/2015/01/2015-Merry-Go-Round-Blog-Tour-300x188.jpg" alt="2015 Merry Go Round Blog Tour" width="300" height="188" style="float:left;margin: 15px;" />This month’s Merry-Go-Round topic is a hard one for me, though perhaps not for the reasons you suspect. The topic is “If you could be another writer, who would you want to be? Or what have you learned from them?” While I do not want to become another writer, I have certainly learned from many. This answer will have some crossover in my favorite reads because that’s whom I learn from as well, but the focus will be different.<br />
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My earliest influence as a writer has to be Andrew Lang, who compiled a series of fairytale books. From those, I learned the patterns, tropes, that underlie many genres, and I learned my first rebellions. My early stories were all fairytales, but while some followed the tropes, others broke them by empowering the female characters, undermining the concept of clear good and evil, and making other changes to reflect my complex reality. I think of one in particular where the beast terrifying the land is the ensorcelled twin brother of a simple peasant…and my “princess” is another peasant who goes to the king to demand assistance, and ends up accepting both brothers into her life.<br />
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Read more on <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/authors-who-have-influenced-my-writing-2015-merry-go-round-blog-tour/">Tales to Tide You Over</a>Margaret M. Fiskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-2247173608961807722015-09-19T04:00:00.000-04:002015-09-19T04:00:06.076-04:00MGR Tour: Reading and Writing -- Do They Line Up?<a href="http://jeanschara.com/randr/2015/09/19/mgr-tour-reading-and-writing-do-they-line-up/" target="_blank">Come on over and see</a> what I read and whether or not it lines up with what I write.Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805501348812702651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-64963800972009293432015-09-18T06:00:00.000-04:002015-09-18T06:00:02.447-04:00Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: What Genres do I like to Read and Write?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My very favorite genre is Science Fiction. When I was a young teen my friend received a whole box of SciFi books from someone who gave them away for a paper drive. I spent the whole summer with my nose in those books. I found the worlds fantastic and the ability of Science Fiction to explore an alternate way of life has not lost its charm for me yet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I also like mystery stories. Click <a href="http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/2015/09/merry-go-round%E2%80%A6read-and-write/" target="_blank">here</a> to read more. </span></div>
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The Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion (http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, travelling the world from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: Jean Schara</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-10980207331210329172015-09-05T13:10:00.000-04:002015-09-05T13:10:35.637-04:00My Favorite Genres for Writing and Reading<img src="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/wp-content/35$UE/2015/01/2015-Merry-Go-Round-Blog-Tour-300x188.jpg" alt="2015 Merry Go Round Blog Tour" width="300" height="188" style="float:left;margin: 15px;" />This is a hard topic for me because I’ve hardly met a genre in which I haven’t found at least one book to enjoy, and odd stories have popped up from all sorts of genres I never imagined writing.<br />
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If you want my oldest favorite, that would have to be science fiction. I had a troubled time with reading in school during my early years. I could not find anything valuable in the books I was offered (Dick and Jane) and so decided the whole thing wasn’t worth my time. Then my sister stepped in with Anne McCaffrey and Marion Zimmer Bradley.<br />
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At the time, both Pern and Darkover were filed under science fiction (don’t ask me what I think of the shift), as both are anthropological science fiction. I adored the cultures and the interactions between people of different traditions. As a diplomat’s kid, it was as though they were writing for me.<br />
Read more on <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/my-favorite-genres-for-writing-and-reading-2015-merry-go-round-blog-tour/#more-8188">Tales to Tide You Over</a>Margaret M. Fiskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-25880736256970875902015-08-27T14:05:00.003-04:002015-08-27T14:06:43.191-04:00What I learned from other genresThough I'm not sure what type of writer I am, I know I enjoy writing and reading romance most.<br />
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I write to share my creativity, help others and hold myself accountable. I'm not tied by one type of story telling and love blending element across genres.<br />
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And why not?</div>
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It's fun!<br />
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You may read the more, or follow me on <a href="http://www.theliteraryhubbooks.com/2015/08/what-i-learned-from-other-genres.html" target="_blank">The Literary Hub</a> </div>
Robecca Austinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05193874335168957743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-86902039814820254432015-08-19T04:00:00.000-04:002015-08-19T04:00:13.229-04:00MGR: Lessons from Other GenresI was at a loss for how to approach this month's topic, but I gave it the old "college try." <a href="http://jeanschara.com/randr/2015/08/19/mgr-lessons-from-other-genres/" target="_blank">Read what I came up with here.</a>Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805501348812702651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-72607347067953710482015-08-18T03:00:00.000-04:002015-08-18T03:00:04.195-04:00Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour: What have I learned from other story-telling genres?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">I'm an eclectic writer. While I love SciFi and write in that
genre often, I don't limit myself to just that form. What that means is, I need
to be consciously aware of the tropes, the expectations, if you will, of every
genre I write in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A good example is my latest book, Mystery at the Fair. I've
been reading mysteries and thrillers since I was a teen, right along with my
SciFi and Fantasy. But I was never conscious of what it was about those stories
that made them a mystery, rather than a SciFi or a Fantasy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of course, there's the mystery. That much is obvious. But
what makes it a mystery? <a href="http://conniesrandomthoughts.com/2015/08/merry-go-round%E2%80%A6telling-genres/" target="_blank">See more at ConniesRandomThoughts.com.</a></span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mystery at the Fair released July 15th! I'm pretty excited about
it. You can buy it and my other books at: </span><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mystery-at-the-fair/id1026422466?mt=11"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Apple</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books/book-detail-page?ie=UTF8&bookASIN=1515050491&index=default&parentASIN=B011P3POYW&tabName="><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mystery-at-the-fair-connie-cockrell/1122425588?ean=2940152065640"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barnes
and Noble</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, </span><a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mystery-at-the-fair"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kobo</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, or </span><a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/564549"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Smashwords</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> today! You can also see all of my books on </span><a href="http://www.conniesrandomthoughts.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">www.ConniesRandomThoughts.com</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, Books tab. If you've read any of my books, please drop a
review on the site where you bought it. It's a big help to me in the book
rankings each vendor uses to promote the books on their sites. Thanks in advance.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The
Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour is sponsored by the website Forward Motion
(http://www.fmwriters.com). The tour is you, the reader, travelling the world
from author’s blog to author’s blog. There are all sorts of writers at all
stages in their writing career, so there’s always something new and different
to enjoy. If you want to get to know the nearly twenty other writers check out
the rest of the tour at http://merrygoroundtour.blogspot.com! Up next: Jean Schara</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14209002996398023595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8044855413185929902.post-68579851904355583592015-08-05T17:00:00.000-04:002015-08-06T15:15:08.586-04:00Lessons Learned from Other Storytelling Genres: 2015 Merry-Go-Round Blog Tour<img src="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/wp-content/35$UE/2015/01/2015-Merry-Go-Round-Blog-Tour-300x188.jpg" alt="2015 Merry Go Round Blog Tour" width="300" height="188" style="float:left;margin: 15px;" />The topic for this month is lessons learned from other storytelling genres. This is a strong one for me because I didn't come to storytelling through writing. I came to it from an oral tradition that I later tried to translate into written form. I never did finish that project, but have since moved on to new ones.<br />
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I feel I've already given a strong example in a post I made all the way back in 2012 (which you can read about <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/what-buffy-and-chuck-can-teach-us-about-character-arcs/" target="_blank">here</a>) where I compared two television shows that on the surface are completely different and yet share at least two character arcs (one I discuss and the other mentioned in the comments). The two shows are Chuck and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.<br />
Read more on <a href="http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/online-communities-for-readers-2015-merry-go-round-blog-tour/#more-8187">Tales to Tide You Over</a>Margaret M. Fiskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00537558539259791284noreply@blogger.com