Secondary Characters Blog Hop

I'm popping in for a quick blog hop hosted by the fabulous Rachel Schieffelbein, Suzie Retlaff,  Theresa Paolo, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Saylor, Jenny Morris, and Cassie Mae. 

I love good secondary characters. They can make or break a book for me, and I could easily list 20 or so good secondary characters that I enjoy reading. Instead, I'm going to name my most recent favorite: Captain Carswell Thorne from the book Scarlet. He's a cadet, but prefers to be called captain. He's arrogant, flirtatious, and, at times, crude. In the beginning of the book, he's so full of himself that he's slightly annoying and by the end of the book, I laughed out loud every time he spoke. His ingenious characterization was well crafted by author Marissa Meyer. I look forward to reading more about him in her next books.

See you all in a few more weeks!

Contest Circuit: May 13

I'm still recovering from the A-Z Challenge. I managed to post every day, but got behind a few too many times commenting. The biggest highlight of the challenge was being featured as one of Alex J Cavanaugh's blogger buddies for his letter "P" on the Princess Bride.  Thank you again, Alex, for your kind words.

I'll be absent most of May as I get ready to move. Until then, here are a handful of contests and blog hops I had to mention. Enjoy!

Contests and Blog Hops

Secondary Characters Blog Hop hosted by the wonderful ladies: Rachel Schieffelbein, Theresa Paol, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Salyer, Jenny Morris, and Suzi Retzlaff will be May 22.

Alex J Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp, Livia Peterson and Al Diaz are hosting The Best and Worst Remakes Blogfest on May 17.

Julie at A Thought That Grows pointed out the Unpublished Writer Fiction Contest: Colorado Gold Contest. The contest is for unpublished writers of commercial novel-length fiction and offers an opportunity to get your novel in the hands of an acquiring agent or editor. See Julie's site for details.

SC Write, Michelle4Laughs and Writer's Outworld are hosting Query Kombat Contest. If you survive the tournament, eight agents will be browsing the semifinals to make requests. Submission window is from May 13-May 17 until 225 entries are filled.

80+ bloggers are signed up for Kid Lit Giveaway Hop hosted by Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews. Jump around and sign up for a few giveaways!

Steven Tremp, Alex J Cavanaugh, L. Diane Wolf and Michael Di Gesu are hosting the Get Healthy Bloghop on May 29.

DL Hammons and Elise Fallson are hosting the WIPIT Good Blogfest on May 31 focusing on your latest WIPs.

IWSG: So Much to Celebrate

Today, I celebrate another month of IWSG and my Blogoversary. A year ago today, I wrote my first post, "Giving In." I reluctantly started this blog to enter a contest. I ended up gaining more from this blogging thing than I ever expected. Over the next month or two, I'll share my reflections of what I've learned from this past year and what I actually "infiltrated." Those posts require me to be reflective and (hopefully, ideally, not making any promises) profound. After 26 days of the A-Z Challenge, I'm feeling neither. So instead I'll leave you with this:

After a year of blogging and querying, this unagented anybody writer believes that successful publication is not only possible, but it is something I truly believe will happen for me AND for you if you want it badly enough and will work hard for it. Hard is a relative term, I know. It's also different for all of us. I don't know what "working hard" means for you. All I know is this: A year ago, one-day publication seemed like a pipe-dream. Now, it seems like a possibility. You and I just need to get it done. 

Read. Be reflective. Be open to criticism and toss the criticism that isn't right for you. WRITE, WRITE, and WRITE some more - without forgetting to enjoy life as you go. Enjoying life, after all, gives us our inspiration and motivation. 

Enjoy life, write about life, whatever you need to do. Just get it done.