The Versatile Blogger and 7 Things About Me

April Line, a new writing crush of mine, did me a mercy early this morning on AprilLineWriting.

Well, more than one, really. 1) She named me one of 7 versatile bloggers, bestowing this cool award jpeg on me; 2) She reminded me that I’m not tossing words off the cliffs of nowhere; and 3) She challenged me (inadvertently) to keep up with my own blog at least as well as I do my other monthly features (like Laura Kurk On Hollywood and KatharosNow). Thank you, kind new friend April!

So my acceptance speech is supposed to be a list of seven random things about me. And then at the end of my speech, I’m to name 7 other bloggers who are versatile and worthy of a follow.

Here goes . . .

Number 7:

I am a descendant of Laura Foster, the woman killed by her impoverished Confederate veteran lover, Tom Dula (Dooley). He reportedly stabbed her many times with a large knife and buried her body. His former lover who was insanely jealous of Laura, reported the location of Laura’s body. He was hanged for the crime but not before it became a media circus because of love triangles and STDs. Oh, and there’s a song . . .

Number 6:

As a teenager, when I felt nervous, I would get dry heaves. This was especially embarrassing on the night of junior prom (my first actual date with an actual boy, alone in his actual car). You can fill in the awful details.

Number 5:

I tried stuffing my bra exactly once. Unfortunately, the toilet paper I used worked its way up and over the top of my shirt during the day. I didn’t know that until I went to the restroom during last period and saw a streamer of toilet paper hanging halfway down my body. FAIL.

Number 4:

One time, driving from my west Texas college to Oklahoma for the holidays, I ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. I coasted into a station that looked more closed than open. But there was a guy there, and the pumps did work. After filling up, I found that I’d left my wallet in my dorm. I had a small TV in the car, so I gave that to the man at the counter, smiled, and thanked him for the gas.

Number 3:

I posed for a picture with meth addicts in London’s Piccadilly Circus. I don’t recommend it.

Number 2:

I can type freakishly fast. Like blurred hands fast. I won a state typing contest in high school. Nerd.

And the Number 1 random thing about me:

I have what a frustrated orthopedist once said were “Just extra bones . . . get over it,” in my feet. They’re like second ankle bones, slightly below and west of my real ankle bones. They’ve got a name but I forget. They make wearing shoes, any type of shoes, weird. When I was in high school, I saw the first doctor about them. He gave me a foot rub and charged my mom $500.

Now for my blogging awards–

Number 7:

Tessa Hall is an eighteen-year-old (maybe 19 now?) writer who is getting ready to release her first novel. I love her tender blog–Christ is Write–written mostly for teen girls, that tackles matters of the heart, faith, and writing. She’s a talented girl and someone to follow.

Number 6:

Mara Schasteen, an expressive naturalist painter in Wyoming, maintains a beautiful blog known for its abundance of heart and willingness to tell all her painting secrets. She’s a lover of nature and people and beauty and God and she’s as expressive with her words as she is with her paintbrushes.

Number 5:

I like Ruthie Dean’s blog a lot. She’s filling a gap, speaking to twenty-something professionals who are worried about things like ‘will i ever get married?’ and ‘how can i recover from all these mistakes i’ve made?” She’s honest, authentic, and witty. She says what she means.

Number 4:

I’m a huge fan of Stephanie Morrill’s Go Teen Writers! Stephanie does incredible mentoring of young, aspiring writers at her site. I’ve not seen a post yet which wasn’t full of meat and potato writing advice. She hosts contests, hooks writers up with mentors, and teaches workshop style lessons. It’s great stuff!

Number 3:

The MacGregory Literary blog – hosted as chipmacgregor.com is one to follow if you have any interest in writing and publishing. Chip is known for bringing a touch of humor and realism to the world of agenting and publishing and he has surrounded himself with fantastically smart people. My own agent, Amanda Luedeke, blogs every Thursday (Thursdays with Amanda) and she gives advice about how to make it in the industry. It’s a “How To” sort of column that breaks things down into chunks we can handle.

Number 2:

One of my favorite new blogs is Ryan Pemberton‘s hands&feet|thoughts on experiencing and sharing Him. Ryan has the amazing claim to fame of living in C.S. Lewis’s former home while studying theology at Oxford. Yeah. It’s cool, I know. And his writing style is emotional and full of heart. I cry when I read him and I see a lot of themes in his writing that I strive for in my own.

Number 1:

My number one most favorite versatile blog is Sara Zarr’s. Sara’s the best thing happening in YA right now, in my opinion, and it’s not just because she has a way with words. She also graciously shares her time, talent, knowledge, and heart with her readers and, most importantly for me, other writers. She’s open about her own stumbles as she finds her way in this odd calling–the creative life. Her new podcasts, in which she interviews a well-known creative person each week, are beast. Follow her if you like to hear smart, sensitive, bold AND vulnerable things being said. And if you like to laugh.

So that’s me and a few of my favorite things! Thanks again, April Line, for the shout out . . .

Love,