A is for Amazing Alphabet Team #AtoZchallenge

For our team A post, we present a brief interview with the 2018 Amazing Alphabet Team!

(The fine folks who volunteer their time, energy, and skills to make this challenge happen for you. There will be a seperate post to honor our Amazing graphics guy, Jeremey, later this month.)

1- What's your passion in life?

Arlee-  One passion that consumes much of my thinking is road tripping.  I hate to think of a time when I wouldn't be able to drive.

J- Writing is my passion. That's how I relate to the world.

Csenge- Storytelling. It is both my passion and my profession, which makes me incredibly lucky.

John- Music. Roughly half of my posts outside the A to Z Challenge are about music, and a couple of years ago I had two themes (quite by accident) and one of them was music.

Jayden-Writing, of course. It's therapeutic. But music is a close second. Singing is like sharing a story through song and I love that.

2- What are your goals during the A to Z Challenge 2018?

Arlee-  To keep a balance in my life between blogging and other stuff around me.  But I do want to get my posts done before April.

J- My goals are to make this year really fun for all participants, to complete the challenge, and to leave comments on 300 blogs. On my own blog, I have a short story told in parts, which my goal is to get people to think about life. (If you do too, check out the stories of A to Z post!)

Csenge- My goal is to write posts that people find both entertaining and informative. Also, to make some new blogging friends! I have found marvelous blogs through the challenge in the past, I am looking forward to more.

John- To have all the posts done by April 1 and do as much visiting of other blogs as I can during April.

Jayden- My goal for this year is to have all of my posts ready to go before April 1st so I can enjoy exploring new blogs! I have found some awesome writers I am excited to catch up with this year and I look forward to finding even more!

3- What was your biggest accomplishment in the last 12 months?

Arlee-  It's become a yearly tradition--driving back east to see family, friends, and especially my grandkids including the newest girl child, Logan Lego.  This past year I made the trip twice.

J- Publishing my debut novel, Fractions of Existence, was my biggest accomplishement in the last 12 months. One of the coolest parts was being interviewed on the Debut Author Spotlight at Operation Awesome. (That's what I usually do on Wednesdays, so it was fun to switch to the hotseat.)

Csenge- Finishing my PhD, and publishing Dancing on Blades, my new folktale collection!

John- Continuing my streak of consecutive days posting to the blog, now close to 1500.

Jayden-Publishing my first Choose Your Own Adventure Erotic Novel: Runaway. I couldn't believe how much fun I had writing it for NaNoWriMo last year. I released one iteration of the novel in last year's A to Z Blog Challenge. Publishing the whole novel April 30th was incredible!

4- What about a blog will catch your eye and turn you into a regular visitor?

Arlee-  Interesting material written in an accessible style--and preferably in black print on a white background.

J- A blog with a subject I enjoy written in captivating manner will always keep me coming back for more.

Csenge- I like blogs with interesting topics or themes. Bonus if they are related to folklore, mythology, or role-playing games.

John- Humor. I like to laugh.

Jayden-I love a well written story. I enjoy characters whose lives are compelling, particularly if it's an ongoing story!

5- Besides your blog, how can you be reached online?

Arlee-  I'm not on social media very much, but I can be found on Twitter @ArleeBird

J- Twitter twitter.com/JLenniDorner is my favorite method of online communication. I'm also on facebook.com/WhatAreThey and most of the other major social media outlets.

Csenge- Twitter (https://twitter.com/TarkabarkaHolgy), and the Facebook page for my "Following folktales around the world" series.

John- I have presences on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/johltonehandtyping), Twitter (https://twitter.com/onehandtyping), Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/onehandtyping/), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/onehandtyping_/). Probably the best way would be through Instagram, as I don't check the others that frequently.

Jayden- http://twitter.com/jrvincente, https://www.facebook.com/jrvincente,  www.goodreads.com/jrvincente


If you wish to include a direct link to your blog post of this day's letter, please click: 
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LETTER A FORM

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"I enjoy challenges. If a challenge is in front of me and it appeals to me, I will go ahead and conquer it." - Conor McGregor

Wake Me Up When September Ends

How is life treating you?

It's Autumn in my area. The time when people take mini-vacations to look at leaves that have changed color. (Yes, it's a thing. They're called "leafers" or "leaf peepers.")
"Autumn is the third season of the year. This is when crops and fruits are gathered, and leaves fall. In the northern hemisphere, it is from September to November." (Thanks, Google.)

September has been especially hard for several areas. In my newsfeed, I see:

• Montana suffering from fires.
• Texas still taking hits from the horrible weather.
• The historic destruction in Florida.
• Puerto Rico facing months of devastation.
• Fallout from the earthquake in Mexico.

I'm sure there are more stories like this all over the world. These are just the headlines where I live. It's been terrible. As Green Day put it, "Wake Me Up When September Ends."

Then there's happier news:

WMMR, a radio rock station in Philadelphia (PA, USA), was voted the best rock station of all time.
I heard about this while checking out the A TO Z event they held.
http://wmmr.com/event/back-to-school-a-to-z/



Cool stuff! I was listening to tunes while finishing the publication of my debut novel, an urban fantasy titled "Fractions of Existence."

Operation Awesome (a blog in the 2017 A to Z Challenge) had team member Kara interview me. Usually, I'm the one interviewing debut authors, so this was an interesting experience!

If you happen to be a writer, I suggest checking out this IWSG post. Not one, but TWO contests! What??? That's amazing!

Have you encountered any A to Z fun in a non-blog place?

Are there any books by debut authors you're looking forward to in the coming months?

Do you have any big news to share?

Back to Stationery Shopping

In my neck of the woods, it's the time of year when all the stores overflow with stationery, all of which is on sale. For parents and children, this is known as "back to school shopping."

For writers, this is known as "fueling for the addiction." (I'd tell you I'm kidding, but my wallet would disagree. Also, I have habit of sniffing... deeply inhaling... new notebooks. That scent is "the good stuff." Am I alone in this?)

Here's an A to Z stationery shopping list:

• A is for — activity books

• B is for — books ~~~ If you enjoy reading, check these out:

Bout of Books Read-a-thon — August 21-27.
The Tackle Your TBR Read-a-thon — September 11-24

• C is for — crayons
• D is for — dictonary

• E is for — erasers
• F is for — flashcards

• G is for — glue
• H is for — hundreds of index cards
• I is for — ink filled pens

• J is for — jump drive (USB flash drive, data stick, pen drive, memory unit, key chain drive and thumb drive)
• K is for — kicks (sneakers, tennis shoes)
• L is for — lined paper

• M is for — measuring devices (rulers, protractors)
• N is for — notebook, spiral bound
• O is for — object to carry books and such in (backpack)
• P is for — pencils

• Q is for — Quaker oatmeal, cereal, fast breakfast foods
• R is for — reward stickers

• S is for — stapler

• T is for — thesaurus

• U is for — utensils
• V is for — variety of three-ring binders
• W is for — wireless notebook

• X is for — Xbox lunchbox
• Y is for — yellow highlighter
• Z is for — zit remover

I admit this alphabetical list has strayed from stationery in places.
What words might you suggest for K, Q, U, X, or Z?


Have an idea for an A to Z post? Are you a past participant who would like to be featured? Let me know!

by J Lenni Dorner
Reference and Speculative Fiction Author
A to Z Challenge Co-Host
Operation Awesome Debut Author Spotlight Organizer

Debut Author Spotlight

J here of #TeamArlee (the BEST team in the A to Z Challenge— woot woot!).
I've taken over the Debut Author Spotlight at Operation Awesome on Wednesdays.
Here's an A to Z list making this news relevant to YOU!

• Authors who take part in the A to Z challenge know it's best to support one another
• Blogging has never been more vital for debut authors
• Connecting and commenting is the bread& butter of successful debut authors
• Debut authors are AWESOME and brave
• Entertainment is easily found in the pages of a new book
• Friends and family alone are not enough— debut authors need support and reviews from other people
• Genres from every shelf are eligible for representation
• Heartthrobs, hardships, humanitarian missions... it's hard not to find a good book
• Intellectual discussions about books are the cornerstone of culture
• Just leaving a nice comment on these posts could encourage the next Agatha Christie, Danielle Steel, J.K. Rowling, Stephen King, John Grisham...
• Kindred book spirits are easier to find thanks to my short interviews
• Love 'em or leave 'em, you'll learn about the debut authors in just a few short minutes
• Maybe you'd find something you never expected
• New authors become favorite authors
• Only debut once!
• Publishing traditionally, small press, or self— all are welcome to be interviewed
• Quality or quantitiy— which increases sales more? Come discuss!
• Reviews are powerful! Determine if these debut authors will be graced by you giving them such a wonderous gift. A new author EVERY WEDNESDAY!
• Social Media and debut authors... The "We live by the sword, we die by the sword" idiom means, basically, what you use shall come around and be used equally on or to you. So when it comes to debut authors, "We live by the Tweet, we die by the Tweet." These are people longing to connect with their audience. Come make a new friend!
• Television and movies based on the works of debut authors have made billions. (Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind, Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, Nicholas Sparks's The Notebook, Ed Conlons's Blue Blood, etc)
• Utopia is a place where we never run out of new books to read
• Variety is the spice of life. Check out a debut author today!
• Whatever A to Z category you most love, there's a book on the subject
• X-treme book reading challenge: Read one book by a debut author every week!
• Years ahead of other shippers if you fall in love with the book first!
• Zip over to say hello and wish me luck on my new position interviewing debut authors at Operation Awesome.

Interested in being interviewed? Contact @JLenniDorner on Twitter!     
      If you're interested in submitting a guest post for the A to Z Challenge blog, please contact me at ArleeBird@gmail.com.

#atozchallenge Blog Check Up in 7 Steps

       Here's some good words of advice from one of Arlee Bird's A to Z Ambassadors team.  

Blog Check Up in 7 Steps

Guest post by J Lenni Dorner

The April A to Z Challenge is fast approaching. Time to do a Blog Check Up! I've encountered many blogs that need a few minutes of tender loving care. Here's a seven-step checklist to help you:

Step 1- Using a computer (not a phone or tablet), surf to your webpage. Not your admin area, but the page that the public sees. Do you like the way it looks? If not, note what you want to change. Use the A to Z list to surf to three other blogs (any random three), then surf back to your own. Do you still like how it looks? (This is a color test.)

Step 2- Click on your links. Does your Twitter icon go to your Twitter page? (As opposed to going to "https://twitter.com/http://twitter.com/username" If you think I made that example up, you haven't clicked on as many Twitter icons as I have. I found that error 42 times last year.) Check your Facebook link, Pinterest link, Instagram link, etc.

Step 3- Even though I just discussed clicking your links, I'm going to make this a step onto itself. Check your Goodreads icon. (Skip this step if you don't use Goodreads.) People come to your blog to connect with YOU. If you have a Goodreads icon and it goes to Goodreads.com instead of to your Goodreads profile, that isn't helping you or your blog. (Unless, perhaps, you're getting paid for that click.)

I see many people making this mistake. Go to https://www.goodreads.com/user/edit and click on Widgets. There you will find pre-written code that will link your guests to you. It gives you various options to suit your needs.

Step 4- Can your blog be followed? You just joined a massive blog hop. A majority of bloggers who make this commitment do so because they want to be found, heard, and followed. The marketing blogs will tell you to create an email list for your blog army. That's certainly good advice.

I'm going to toss in that you should offer at least one other method. Why? Because some people will visit over 300 blogs in April. They do not necessarily want 300 new emails a day, a week, or a month. However, those same people might follow your blog with services such as:

·         BlogLovin'

·         LinkyFollowers

·         Networked Blogs (limit of 200 blogs that a person can follow, requires Facebook)

·         Google Friend Connect (only on Blogger, possibly being phased out)

·         Wordpress Reader (only those with a Wordpress account can use)

·         RSS feeds (several options for those people who use that service, but must be set up correctly)

Step 5- Site rating. Look over your blog posts. If you have adult material, you need to note this up front. Most importantly, you NEED to have an AC label on your link at the challenge sign up page OR YOU WILL BE REMOVED.

What is adult content?

·         Excessive Violence — If your blog reads like a how-to guide for Hannibal Lecter, you have excessive violence. If you've written the A to Z guide of how to beat up anyone, make bombs, and kill without detection, you have excessive violence.

·         Nudity for sexual purposes — If you write erotica, you have adult content. This gets tricky with art blogs. If you fall into a gray area, ask the challenge hosts for a ruling before April.

·         Strong and frequent harsh language — If the F word is being used as a verb, or it is used more than three times in a blog post, that is considered adult content. If your every blog post drops at least three curse words, that is adult content.

Adult Content blogs are not written for children. The purpose of the rating is to protect the young and those sensitive to such topics. Those people are not the core audience for such blogs, would not follow such blogs, and possibly present legal trouble if they land on adult blogs. The hosts and their volunteer teams take on the responsibility of keeping the challenge safe and legal for everyone. Please be respectful of this.

Step 6- Check your site on a mobile version (smartphone, some tablets). Can people still access your social media? (If that's important to you.) Do you like the look of your blog?

Step 7- Is your blog a blog? There's always someone trying to get their "click to buy sunglasses" site in the linky. Guess what? They get removed. The difference between a selling website and a blog that has some items for sale is all about content. There must be actual posts with actual content that people want to enjoy.

There are plenty of good people who are willing to help you get your blog ready for the challenge. This is the time and place to ask.

J Lenni Dorner is a speculative fiction and reference guide author who blogs at: http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com

This is the fifth year that J is taking place in the A to Z Challenge, and the second year serving on Arlee's team.