Awards for great blogs to visit and revisit -

I Love Your Blog Award!
I'm so touched! Bevie from The Great Sea presented me with an "I love Your Blog Award".

Writtenwyrdd had given the award to Bevie and explained what I feel having received the award. That it truly does make one feel wonderful to know that someone thinks enough of my jibberjabbering to have taken the time to send me an award. Not only that, but to post a link on their blog, mentioning my blog and why she loves it.

I was truly surprised and tickled to have received the reward since I have only one blog where I touch on whatever subject takes my fancy!

I'm happy to continue the tradition of passing on the award. There are some rules for the award, but these rules are great rules to follow since they spread such good cheer to the bloggers that receive them.

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

I nominate the following 7 bloggers to receive the I Love Your blog award. (Some have received this award before, however, I see no reason not to reinforce that others enjoy their blogs! )

1. Tia's Writing Blog Tia has posted numerous helpful 'how to' entries on her blog and I think quite possibly, the person who has visited my blog for the longest period of time. She's written 2 fantastic novels that I've had the honor and pleasure of reading: Starcaster and Forging A Legend. I wait most impatiently for them to be published. I 'met' Tia at Fantasy Debut as she was kind enough to review my novella: Into This Mind. I actually started blogging at her suggestion!
   
2. Cat in the Buff This is a gem of a blog, offering fun cat stories (I never tire of these), cute things that Firestar has been up to, memoriam links (that I copied on my blog) and just a fun blog to read. It might well be the blog I visit most often. (Speaking of cat stories, this morning I heard some scuffle in the bathroom, then cat crying, I went running in, no cat, but the crying continued. Amelia had actually jumped to the top of the shower door and had fallen inside the shower - she was stuck and thankfully unhurt)
   
3. Kristophrenia In addition to visiting my blog, Kristophrenia also has linked to my blog. I've also had the pleasure and honor of reading two of her magnificent novels: Battle of the Hexes and Grim Light that I'm impatient to see published!
   
4. A Voice in the Wind Bevie IS a voice in the wind, a voice says "I'm listening" and I care about my fellow bloggers. I love the cat of the day, and every now and then Firestar pops over and blogs.
   
5. Spyscribber I don't know how she manages to keep up so many blogs, but she does. Always something kind to say. Her blog entries often give me cause to pause and ponder the questions before I answer. She's such a sweetie!
   
6. Dark Parables of a Christian Sister Carole was gracious enough to blog about my book, Into This Mind, after I mailed a complimentary copy to her. I had googled myself and stumbled upon her entry - I was very touched that she took the time to mention my novella. She covers a diverse topic of issues that she cares about and isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in. She has not only been supportive of my writing - when I was writing - but she's taken quite a number of writers under her wing. It's also fun and colorful!
   
7. FairyHedgeHog I started visiting her blog because she has a cat, Rufus, who I heard about at Cat in the Buff, and then I kept visting her blog to play with the hamster she had - I could feed it, play with it, it was just so amusing, I finally had to fetch my own copy. She was kind enough to provide links and pointers. After visiting to play with the hamster, I started regularly reading her blog and found her entries to be varied and fun.
   

Grim Light lights the way to being a beta reader for all.

I've read another beta draft, this one for Kristophrenia's Grim Light. I think she's outdone herself and I enjoyed it even more than Battle of the Hexes. The concept was original and fun where death lives in cottages and reapers are just ordinary people, going to school and driving cool cars.

I couldn't put it down. I read it while I was brushing my teeth, while I waited in line for hand packed frozen yogurt (yum), while exercising, when I woke first thing in the morning and right before I went to bed.

I've been enjoying my new role as beta reader. Having laid my writing pen to rest, I'm able to provide feedback in a timely manner to those who need a beta reader. So far I've been lucky and I've loved what I've read by both Tia's (Starcaster and Forging a Legend)and Kristophrenia.
If you have a great story and want to bounce it off someone who will actually read it and provide comments, well, here I am.

Why my willingness to help? Well, I've been in that situation where friends/family will say that they'll read it, but they don't, whether it's work, family commitments, or just not their kind of story, they don't read it, and sometimes they forget all about it. Sometimes you find other writers, but their own style sometimes inferiors with their input, instead they tell you how they would write or rewrite it, rather than what they've read and how they interrupted it.

What do I get from this? Think of it as a 'game show'. In this case, I'm the audience, the beta reader, and you, the writer, is the contestant. When you win, I'll have that warm fuzzy having known I helped in some small way. I'll buy my copy (hopefully autographed) and proudly tell people that I knew you when . . .

Kristophrenia sent me this lovely little poem, Sadly the poet didn't take credit so we don't know who wrote it:
Unattributed Ode to Beta Readers

I file off the burrs and I fill in the potholes,
I beef up the verbs and make note of the plotholes.
I tighten the phrasing and cut to the bone
Killing "that", "then" and "suddenly", paired or alone.

I'll shorten the sentences, clear up the scene,
Canonize dialogue, oil the machine.
Activate verbs and cull adjectives back,
Annihilate adverbs and tighten the slack.

Make all the characters speak in my head
If their words are not right then rewrite what they've said.
The cadence important and phrase plays a part
Or canon is ruffled and readers depart.

I beta-read fanfic, I beta-read filk
I beta-read much of the worst of that ilk
I fix up your stories, I clean out the murk
So readers will want to read more of your work

It's your name as author, it's your name on show
My name isn't something your readers will know
But we both are aware that your textual grails
My fingerprints sport on their finer details.

So think of your editors, once in a while
When fans of your stories queue up for a mile
To Betas: a toast. Ladies, gents, raise your glass
To friends who make sure you don't fall on your ass.
____
In spite of how lucky with the beta reads I've had so far, I'm quite picky about what I like to read and very sensitive to material. The following would NOT be a good fit:

1. Horror, bloody, violent, cruel
2. Animals suffering, especially cats
   
3. Novels with many sex scenes, even one can be tiresome for me, I might read over it - I find them boring and a distraction from the 'real' story.
4. Racist (unless the evil character is the racist and will meet their just rewards in the end)
5. Hateful to those different from the norm.

On a final note, if, as I read, I find I really don't care for work, I'll let you know and why. Contact me via my website, and provide your email.

Forging a Legend

I just finished Forging a Legend by Tia Nevitt of the Fantasy Debut fame.
WOW! I lapped down 462 pages in under 3 days and ended up skimping on the house cleaning because I just couldn't stop reading. The concept is such a clever idea and Abriel is charming and lovable character - you feel her pain and joy. Some wise agent/publisher will surely soon see what a gem Tia is and snatch up her work. It can't be too soon for me as I wait for the sequel. Forging a Legend is a 3 book set although one can read the first book and be quite happy with its ending, that is, I didn't feel like I was left hanging.