#AtoZChallenge The Shattered Letter S

The team's theme of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year is:
ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

Today the letter S gets some attention. 

When I set out to write this post, it occurred to me that I’d always accepted our ABC system and never questioned how it developed or who was responsible. It turns out to be a very complicated answer. 

A quick examination—very quick—places the beginning of our alphabet in the 2nd millennium BCE in Egypt. Semitic-speaking slaves who couldn’t understand the complex hieroglyphics, developed simpler phonetic symbols to communicate. A few thousand years later…well, we have 26 letters that we start learning on Sesame Street. 

Thank you, ancient people, for starting the system that gave us those beautiful letters so we could create words.  I’m quite sure that I, for one, wouldn’t be writing books if I had to do so in Egyptian hieroglyphics. 

While the alphabet is always important to me, S has been a special letter these past few months because I just published another book—Shattered, A Story of Betrayal and Courage. 

Some readers who have enjoyed the story say: 

“So. Much. Fun. I had so much fun reading this and the characters were super interesting including the dynamics the characters have created. I really loved this!—Nora Fatima (Bookseller)

“I really enjoyed the mystery to this. We are given random chapters called “the arrangement” that give clues to the fact that Libby’s accident wasn’t an accident after all and was actually orchestrated by a rival skier (or was it?)  I liked the character growth we see in not just Libby but some of the side characters as well. This story felt real and painful and I honestly was hooked from the first page. The twist ending made my thriller self very happy and in the end this was a really heartwarming story.”— Kortnie R., Reviewer 

Links:

Website: https://cleemckenziebooks.com

Evernight Teen: https://www.evernightteen.com/shattered-by-c-lee-mckenzie/

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1110901

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shattered-c-lee-mckenzie/1140389252

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shattered-Betrayal-C-Lee-McKenzie-ebook/dp/B09JYYJG7V/

Bio:

I'm a native Californian who grew up in a lot of different places; then landed in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I write most of the time, hike and practice yoga a lot, and then travel whenever I can. 

In my young adult books, I take on modern issues that today's teens face in their daily lives. My Evernight Teen Publication, Double Negative was voted as one of the best top ten Young Adult books, 2019. My other books, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Sliding on the Edge, Sudden Secrets, Not Guilty, and Shattered are out to four and five-star reviews.  

If you visit my website and sign up for my Email Connect (emails two times a month)there's a free short story for you! Please stop by.

In Shattered, nineteen-year-old Libby Brown's big dream is winning gold the winter Olympics. 🥇 What's your big dream?

bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742
@a.to.z.challenge @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge
Please follow us on social media.

File, Make a Copy of the Master List for yourself! Click this:
https://tinyurl.com/AtoZ22
Be sure your copy is updated with everyone who signed up for the challenge. Hopping to other blogs to leave comments is half of the challenge!

Get your 2022 merchandise here: 
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/103818836

#AtoZChallenge A Reverie

The team's theme of the April Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year is:
ACCOMPLISHING YOUR DREAMS, AND THE DUALITY OF 22

 Hi A to Zers! Here we are at the letter R already! How is your challenge going?

When I was allowed the opportunity to write this guest blog I went into a reverie (or daydream) about reality and reflections. As an amateur photographer I enjoy finding interesting reflections, whether they are in puddles, lakes, flowing water or the calm sea. The reflections are an optical illusion. They are often very beautiful, but even the smallest child soon realises that they can’t be touched. They have no solidity. They are not real in that sense.

Another sort of reflection is thought. I am not a philosopher and will leave it to those better qualified than myself to answer the question, ‘Are thoughts real?’

My reverie caused me to reflect on previous A to Z Challenges. This is the 10^th year I have participated. The first year I was rather new to blogging. My first blog was set up for a particular purpose. I found writing to a formula somewhat limiting, so started a second blog, Sue’s Trifles, with the idea of taking part in writing challenges. It was a few days before the start of the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge, as I discovered by doing a search for ‘challenge’. I signed up and wrote my posts mostly on the day they were due.

One year I also did the challenge on my third blog, Sue’s words and pictures, which is where I post some of the photos I take. Sue’s words and pictures began in 2015 after a particularly enjoyable day out with hubby and my new smart-phone.

Preparing twenty eight posts (including the theme reveal and reflections posts) on one blog is time-consuming. Double that and advance preparation is essential. I recollect that after the first year I began to prepare and schedule my posts in advance. Sometimes I’d be away from home for a week during April.

This year I almost didn’t take part. I am trying to write a memoir of my childhood in the suburbs of south London. It will contrast life in the densely populated south with a village in Lancashire where I was taken for an annual visit to my grandparents. Other parts of the country will also feature. The differences between the north and south of England are topical as the UK government talks about ‘levelling up’.

It was Dave, who wrote the fascinating post about all the twos, who persuaded me to take part again this year. For a writer one person wishing to read their output is a spur. My dream is that many of you will wish to read what I have already written and what I write in the future.

This is my second guest post on this blog. My first is now somewhat superseded by changes in technology.

The theme of dreams and duality encompasses (I hope) reality and reflections. Perhaps memories of other times and places also have a relevance to the theme. 

I have rambled long enough. Reflections are important in the A to Z Challenge. Bloggers are invited to reflect on their experience of taking part. If you are intending to publish a Reflections post it is not too early to gather your thoughts about comments you have received and blogs you have visited as part of the challenge.

Writer bio

Susan always wanted to be a writer.  In 2012 she revived her interest in writing with a project to collect the kinds of sayings, which were much used in her childhood.

Blogging was intended as a way of improving writing skills, but has become an interest in its own right.  Susan experiments with factual writing, fiction, humour and poetry.  She does not yet have a book to her name. Her interests include words, languages, music, knitting and crochet.  She has experience of the world of work, being a stay-at-home mum and an empty-nester.   She is active in her local community and Church, where she sings alto in the choir. She is a member of the Association of Christian Writers. She and her husband live in the north of England. 

Follow her on Twitter @suesconsideredt

Reflections will open on May 2. Will you write a post for that?

bloglovin.com/blogs/blogging-from-a-to-z-april-challenge-3294742
@a.to.z.challenge @atozchallenge
@AprilA2Z Our hashtag is #AtoZChallenge
Please follow us on social media.

File, Make a Copy of the Master List for yourself! Click this:
https://tinyurl.com/AtoZ22
Be sure your copy is updated with everyone who signed up for the challenge. Hopping to other blogs to leave comments is half of the challenge!

Get your 2022 merchandise here: 
https://www.redbubble.com/shop/ap/103818836

#AtoZChallenge Q is for Questions

 

QUESTIONS. WE ALL HAVE THEM.

There are 10 days left of the challenge! You have all been wonderful and inspiring so far. Soaring or struggling to keep up, pantsing or planning, lurking or commenting, you are all doing great! Don't forget, this challenge, first and foremost, is about having fun. 

I am sure you have a bunch of new questions now. Or maybe old ones that you did not get to ask before. Feel free to ask them in the comments!

Here are some, from me to you, just out of curiosity:

Do you have a favorite blog or theme that you discovered in this year's challenge?

Which one was the most difficult letter to complete so far?

What was the nicest / most fun comment someone has left on your blog?

Did you end up adding something to your TBR pile / bucket list / travel plans, thanks to a post you read?

How are you planning on celebrating after you complete the challenge?

Keep going, keep blogging! :)