Awesomeness

So today I have two little announcements to discuss with you all.  First up:

Look at my new header!

Isn't it fantastic?!?  Oh my gosh- I'm so super excited!  Here's the whole story:

Back on June 24th I participated in the Thrill of it All Blogfest celebrating Tara and Heather Gardner's new books by posting a thrilling poem I wrote for the occasion.  Tara and Heather loved the poem and awarded me with one of four prizes they had designated for the bloghop.  Mine was a Tara Tyler originally designed blog header.

You can tell by looking at it that Tara is seriously talented at making these things but here's why she's even more amazing: while the two of us were e-mailing back and forth discussing the design of the thing guess what else was going on?  Tara was launching her new book!  That's right- all month long Tara has been popping up all around the web doing interviews, sharing news and promoting Pop Travel which was released on July 7th.  And this past Saturday she hosted her book launch party!

Now, I don't know about you- but I can't imagine being that busy and still managing to help out a fellow blogger by designing a header for her little blog!  Tara is just too amazing and I am so incredibly thrilled with what she created.

So, if you think the new header is awesome (and how can you not?), take a minute to head by Tara Talks and let her know what great work she did.  And while you're there, check out the blog schedule for the remainder of the year because she's got more interviews, more info on the path she traveled to publishing and a ton more fun stuff coming up now through December.

Tara- you rock my world!  Thank you SO much.

Next up: The Tree of Life is still going strong and yesterday my piece was added to the many brilliant authors who have already contributed.  Take a second, head on over there, and let me know what you think!

Actually writing the piece was so much more fulfilling than I was expecting it to be.   I mean, don't get me wrong- I was expecting it to be really fun but I wasn't prepared for how much the process itself would effect the writing. 

First off, writing to music is not something I'm used to.  Sure, sometimes I'll have music playing in the background while I'm writing- but it mainly functions as white noise to keep my brain plugging along, not as somthing I play to stimulate creativty.  Having a song seve as the source of an idea is a completely different animal and I was so impressed by how the process effected me.  I am trully in awe of Audiomachine and the music they've created and having been so inspired by my one track I am now determined to buy this album so that I can keep it in my back pocket and use it as a secret weapon against writer's block.  If you haven't checked it out yet, go give a listen.  Seriously- amazing stuff!

Secondly, writing collaboratively is a very different process.  The last time I did it was around a campfire while on a Girl Scout trip and back then it consisted of a pass-along story that you would expect 8 year olds to come up with.  I.E:  "As he entered the haunted house he heard a terrifying shriek and then..."  "And then my dog Buster came and rescued him."  "Hey!  You can't do that!"  "Yes I can- it's my turn!"  ...you get the idea.  This time around was, needless to say, very different.  I re-read the story up to that point to try to get a feel for where it was headed, what contributions I wanted to include, and where I imagined the story going.  I ended up reminding the reader of an earlier character who hadn't been seen for a little bit but has, I believe, much left to do in the story as well as using one of three new characters that hadn't played a part yet.  The reader comments lead me to believe I did a good job with it and Sam's feedback when I sent it to her was incredibly kind.  I genuinely can't wait to see where the next writer takes it and I'm looking forward to reading as it continues to evolve. 

I owe a HUGE, giant, heart-felt THANKS to the truly awesome Sam for inviting me to participate in this amazing project!  I've had such a blast!  Your genius in coming up with this just astounds me.

Make sure you check out the story and keep following- It's gonna be quite a story by the time it's all done!

Celebrate the Small Things- July 19th

Hosted, as always, by the pioneering Viklit.

I Own My Car Now!  I've been making monthly payments on my Toyota for five full years now and just a few days ago I got a refund check for 6 dollars and some-odd cents.  At the time I was sort-of annoyed.  "Really?  You can't just keep the tiny overpayment towards next month?"  But then a couple of days later I got another letter from them containing my title.  I had an impromptu dance party in the kitchen, involving much jumping up and down and high-pitched squeaks of joy.

My Car has Air Conditioning  Yesterday my co-worker suggested we try to beat the heat by grabbing a water ice from Rita's, but he asked that we take my car because it has AC.  "You don't have AC?!?" I marveled.  "How can you survive your commute?"  It was then that he informed that he brings an extra pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt for the drive, which are soaking wet by the time he arrives, and then changes back into his work clothes.  According to him: “I feel like I’m wading in the bayou.”  Oy!  Talk about gratitude!  I LOVE my car.

Stories, more stories and the Story  So I’ve been seriously digging the Write Club entries- two winners and two bouts still open for voting.  Don’t forget to stop by, read, vote and get your chance to win a $75 Amazon gift card.

AND, as if that weren't enough, the Tree of Life: Branching Out collaboration is absolutely blowing my mind!  So far Amy Willoughby-Burle, John Wiswell, M. Pax, Al Diaz and Gary Philip Pennick have contributed and it’s just fraking awesome.  I’m up next Sunday and I can’t wait to see where the story’ll be by then!

And now, of course, it's time to hop.  Happy Friday, everyone!

---

1. Suzanne Furness The Word is. . .	2. Julie Flanders	3. tara tyler
4. J. A. Ward Writes	5. Lara Lacombe - Romance With an Edge	6. Life, yoga and other adventures
7. Charity Pence	8. Ink in the Book	9. My Baffling Brain
10. Scribbles From Jenn	11. Tyreans Writing Spot	12. Writing Off the Edge
13. Father Dragon Writes	14. Lexa Cain	15. Michelle @ Writer~In~Transit
16. The Write Game	17. Writers Mark	18. Entertaining Interests
19. Reading, Writing and Everything in Between	20. Effectively Human	21. Jen Naumann Author
22. Mary Pax	23. Diana Wilder - About myself, by myself. . .	24. Pasha, From Animal Shelter to A Sheltered Life
25. S. K. Anthony	26. Agenthood and Submissionville	27. Defending The Pen
28. Queendsheena	29. Bouquet of Books	30. Kidbits
31. A Good One	32. Black Coffee and Cigarettes	33. Putting Pen to Paper
34. Writers Block	35. Rebeccah Writes	36. Debs Writing Room
37. Melanies Blog	38. melanie schulz	39. The Prosers
40. Shah Wharton's WordsinSync	41. Intentional Insights by S. Kelley Harrell	42. Creating Wordlenik
43. Simply Sarah	44. Today, I think. . .	45. Felicity Burnett (WR)
46. Janice Heck, My Time to Write	47. The Sock Zone	48. Brandy's Bustlings
49. M. J. Fifield	50. Constantine	51. Nana Prah's Blog
52. BaMes Live	53. The Journey South	54. The Reluctant Author
55. Thoughts and Ideas from Deanie Humphrys-Dunne	56. Shayla's TeaGarden	57. The Beveled Edge
58. Rossandra White	59. Writing's Not For Weenies	60. Vidya Sury, Going A-Musing, Collecting Smiles
61. Writeful Melodies	62. Sarah McCabe- Falling Toward Mythopoesis	63. Meredith's Musings
64. Sarah J. Clift	65. Fiction and Film	66. Scribbling In The Storage Room
67. Georgia Lyn Hunter	68. Ana @ The Artistry Collective	69. Mei - An annoying happy friday
70. Patricia's Place	71. Write About Nothing

Tree of Life

Yesterday, the first entry in the Tree of Life: Branching Out collaborative writing challenge was launched over at Samantha's site writerlysam. 

For those of you not in the loop, The Tree of Life is the truly inspired brainchild of Samantha Redstreake Geary collaborating with Audiomachine whose Tree of Life album was released today.  Preselected guest writers (of which I am one), representing all genres, from all across the globe, will contribute their own 150 word excerpt (wc is flexible) to a continuing story collectively written over the course of 26 days.

Each of the 26 writers will find inspiration in a featured composition from the motion picture music production house, Audiomachine’s new TREE OF LIFE album. These clever masters of the craft will spin the story in whatever direction they choose, picking up where the previous writer left off, resulting in the ultimate collaborative tale. 

The challenge kicked off yesterday with Amy Willoughby-Burle's entry (which you can find here) and will run through August 9th.  Amy's entry is seriously impressive not only because it's the start of our story, but because she submitted it mere days before the anticipated arrival of her fourth child!  Huge congrats to Amy on the upcoming bundle of joy and a super huge THANKS to her for an amazing start to the story!   Head over to Samantha's site to read the impressive start to this 26 part story and stay tuned here to follow the whole story as it unfolds.

I will keep the link up on the side bar (just click on the Tree of Life picture to the right) throughout the collaboration and mention it here frequently, particularly as we approach my scheduled entry (in case you're keen on my thoughts on participating).  Stay tuned- this is going to be epic!