Meet Your Co-Hosts! Fifty Shades of Nicole…

Dear Blogging from A to Z Challenge Participants, 

I am Nicole Ayers, a freelance writer, illustrator and media producer, who completed the April challenge four times and am embarking on my third year as one of your Co-Hosts. My tendency to write lengthy blog posts comes from a preference for painting the full picture of observations and thoughts on certain subjects, rather than an overview. It isn't unusual to find me making notes of some kind -- be that for ideas, to-do lists, troubleshooting problems, etc. on a daily basis. If I won 2 plane tickets, I would go to Italy with my grandmother because it's where many of the arts and cultural scenes that mesmerized me growing up are concentrated, and she deserves a vacation. 

The perpetual calendar in my room is a source of wisdom with reminders for approaching life with a positive and/or productive mindset, one step at a time. I enjoy watching The Walking Dead because its storylines contain lessons about developing multipurpose skills, conquering fear, being a team player, staying fit and identifying the reasons behind your actions. I’m far from a nature lover but would like to be more active outdoors and improve my agricultural knowledge. I care more about Twitter than Facebook. To this day, I dislike my inability to make an edible batch of pancakes. 

It would be great to make life a little better for someone dealing with adversity, before I die. The custom made dress I wore to the prom was based on a design I drew specifically for the occasion. I carry L'Oréal Paris lip gloss in my bag and aspire to find peace on earth but in the meantime, I’ll have BBQ sauce with my French fries, thank you! Although drawing The Gates of Hell at the Rodin Museum for my Art History class was an intimidating experience, the results were surprisingly better than I expected. Over the next 365 days, I plan to get back into the habit of creating artwork on paper.  

One thing I wish I could change in this world is the high cost of education for those who need it most. A computer is among the things I want to save up to get. Since I’m struggling with finding purpose, I think I can help it by just doing a bunch of different things that interest me and seeing what sticks. My favorite TV shows include Flashpoint and Parenthood. I seldomly favor any Holidays. At the time of this writing, the Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominated drama “Pariah” - about a Brooklyn teenager juggling an identity crisis while risking friendship, family & heartbreak while coming to terms with her sexuality - was the last movie I watched. 

I prefer gummy bears and nachos over popcorn. I don’t remember much about kindergarten but I do miss my friend Melissa from 1st Grade. We’ve crossed paths a few times over the years but don’t keep in touch. Still, I would have lunch with her today if the opportunity presented itself because she is one of the smartest, coolest, most ambitious people I’ve ever known from grade school. I’ve handled more guns than I’ve fired. 

The last book I read was A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and loved it! Add in A.M. Holmes’ Jack and Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning and you have some of my favorite books. The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete is one of the saddest movies I ever watched. At this time, a Cabbage Patch Kid and a plush frog are the first childhood toys I remember having. 

Posing with a stranger in my prom photos is one of the stupidest things I ever did. Looking back, I should have posed with my high school friend because now I have these pictures with a person I don’t talk to and it was a great opportunity to create memories with the person I actually knew, whom I continued to stay in touch with after graduation. That was a bad call on my part. Although I rarely celebrate Halloween, I would want to dress up in a rag doll costume. Nightmare on Elm Street is my favorite horror movie. An initiative I participated in for the American Red Cross had the biggest impact on my views about giving to charity.

I like to draw more than paint but if I must do the latter, then I’d prefer tempura over watercolor and acrylics. My favorite actors include Denzel Washington, Vincent D’Onofrio, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis and Leonardo DiCaprio. My favorite actresses include Kate Winslett, Angela Bassett, Hilary Swank, Eva Mendes, and Dakota Fanning. The martial arts adventure Falcon Rising is the last live action film (I think) I saw in theaters, while Marilyn Myller is the last cartoon/animation film I watched at a laundromat during Couch Fest Film Festival. A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School teacher Scot Pankey’s “Uptown Funk” dance is one of my favorite YouTube videos.

I believe that many of our traditions and practices in Western culture are the result of social constructs that limit our potential for unity. If I achieved my dreams, I would be a happier person who got more sleep. An anonymous postcard (the image over on the left) sent to Frank Warren’s PostSerect project contains what has become one of my favorite quotes. “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” by Lauryn Hill is a song that usually makes me cry. My pair of socks from The Crayola Factory hasn’t been worn in at least nine months because I’m afraid about them getting raggedy. Traveling by plane is an experience I dislike since airport security measures that passengers go through have become more intrusive and downright ridiculous. Garfield, Charlie Brown and Bart Simpson are some of my favorite cartoon characters. 

Sincerely,

Nicole who Blogs at The Madlab Post

P.S.

What you wanted to know...

Do we have anything in common?

Characters Who Blog

Only one week until the start of the 2015 Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Hip hip hooray! I can't wait to get started. Did any of you participate in the Great and Powerful Theme Reveal Blogfest on Monday? I loved getting a taste of everyone's challenge themes. I've already bookmarked so many blogs with themes I just can't wait to check in on. I hope you found a few that excited you as well!

Well, for my last Characters Who Blog post before the challenge, I decided to go with one of the most recognizable, admired, and adapted literary characters of all time. And one of my very favorites. So get ready to read some alphabetic awesomeness from one of the great detectives of the literary world . . .

I hope you enjoyed Sherlock's take on the A to Z Challenge. I can't wait to get a look at all of yours! I'll see you all next week for the letter "A"!

Happy Wednesday and, of course, happy blogging!

S. L. Hennessy can be found over at Pensuasion. Check out her A to Z Theme: Movie Smackdowns! 

Challenge Tip – How to Make Friends! Plus the Challenge Theme Reveal is Today

One of the goals of the Challenge, besides posting daily the letters of the alphabet, is to make friends.

The very first Challenge, there were only a hundred of us. We got to know one another over the course of the month and made lasting friendships.

Has that changed now that there are thousands of participants? No! The same opportunity to connect is there. And despite the numbers, I’ve managed to make many new friends every year. So can you.

Here are some tips on how to make friends next month:

Explore the list. Not everyone uses the coding system, but even with just blog titles, you’ll have an idea what to expect. We encourage everyone to visit five new blogs a day, starting with the one right after your own, anyway. Go through the list and note those blogs of interest.

When you find a blog of interest, follow it. Most blogs have one or more follow widgets, or an RSS Feed at the very least. Click on that Google Friends Connect, Linky Followers, or Networked Blogs widget. Show the blogger you are genuinely interested.

Comment on that person’s blog. Friendships are all about interacting and the exchange of thoughts and opinions. Comment on what that person posted about and let him know you read his post and it mattered. Blogging is all about community. Hits and visits don’t tell us much or lead to connections. Comments do.

Return comments on your own blog. That’s someone who stopped by and was interested enough to respond. Return the gesture. Continue the lines of communication. That’s how friendships are formed.

Connect with that person on other platforms–Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Pinterest, etc.

Continue visiting after the Challenge ends. That’s the real test – who keeps coming back? Who wants to continue the communication? If you made a connection during the Challenge, don’t let it fade away in the months following.

Friendship takes effort. But it offers the greatest rewards. Next month, make it your goal to make some friends!


Co-host Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is the author of Amazon Best-sellers CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, and his blog can be found HERE

And don’t forget – the great Theme Reveal is today!

Looking for some cool themes to follow during the Challenge? Here’s a great list to get you started:

A Roadside Attraction with the Mighty A-to-Z Challenge Assets!

Thanks to all who have been doing the 4^th annual Post-Challenge Road Trip. While we've racked up a lot of mileage visiting blogs between May and April, the last stretch of highway is a must-see before packing it in for this season. 

Speaking of the seasons changing, Stormy the Weather Gnome took Heather Gardner into their garage to unpack their road trip co-hosting activities. They will both be missed out here on the road; be sure to keep a lookout for them during the A-to-Z Challenge, as they embark on new adventures!

In the meantime, say hello to the assets of Nicole’s Mighty Minion Bureau! These ladies were in positions #53, #63 and #66, respectively, on last year’s signup list for the A-to-Z Challenge and are returning in 2015 for another year of blogging every day in April. As members of my Mighty Minion Bureau, they are also are a carefully selected team of dispatchers who keep the alphabet juice flowing through participants of the challenge.

“Special Agent” SydneyAaliyah Michelle blogs about tattoo stories, movie quotes and contemporary romance novels – including her own Hope series and Another New Life.

Vidya Sury is doing the A-to-Z Challenge with three blogs this year, including Collecting Smiles where she writes about positive messages on parenting, happiness, traveling and food.

Melanie Shultz blogs about life as an indie author and her five-year goal of building a world class publishing company; she’s already on her way, having released an alternative diction series about a private high school where students are trained to become rulers of tomorrow.

Want to know an easy way to speed through the road trip? Here's how...

If you visit every blog mentioned in this entire post today, you’ll have completed the five-blog minimum necessary for surviving the 2015 Blogging from A-to-Z Challenge. It’s a great way to develop and exercise those blog visiting muscles for April!

A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host Nicole Ayers writes about epic kissing scenes, gratitude and bathroom selfies in the workplace at The Madlab Post. Chat with her on Twitter @MadlabPost 

Meet Your A to Z Co-Host Stephen Tremp

Hi everyone, as an A to Z co-Host, today it’s my turn to do a Getting to Know Me Post. Thanks everyone for posting a question on my blog earlier this week. Okay, here we go. Everything you wanted to know about me, for better or worse. 

Q: Are you secretly working on your own Large Hadron Collider? Alex Cavanaugh 

A: Yes, I am. But I can neither confirm nor deny as it's a secret. Shhhhhhh.

Q: Where DO you stand on the Pluto issue? Barbara in Caneyland A: Glad you asked. According to Pluto’s note to NASA: Your Mom Thought I Was Big Enough, Sincerely, Pluto. So there it is directly from the source. 

Q: If given the opportunity, would you travel to outer space? Betty A: In a heartbeat. Civilian space travel is going to be very expensive, so it’ll have to be as a stowaway. I’ll lock myself in the bathroom. 

Q: Do You play "Spore"? Dr. Theda 

A: My kids do and I watch as we have one room dedicated to computers for the family. It’s hilarious as the evolving species had to adapt and keep from being eaten. 

Q: Now I'm wondering about your webbed feet. Arlee Bird 

A: Arlee, wonder no more. The answer is, oh look, a squirrel with a fuzzy tail. Um, who are we talking about again? 

Q: Are you able to be human with so many wormholes around? Hilary Melton Butcher 

A: I did go back in time and once smashed a mosquito. That one misstep changed everything in our modern day, including people. So technically, although we think we are people, we are really an entirely different race compared to what we used to be living in a perfect utopian society with no crime or disease. Sorry about that. 

Q: Can you play the guitar like Alex? Nashvullecats2 

A: I can play, just not like Alex. 

Q: You're writing a book about cats - do you have a cat of your own? L. Diane Wolfe 

A: We had cats growing up and I love them. But wifey is terribly allergic to them so we do not have a cat. 

Q: Any merit badges? C. Lee McKenzie 

A: Actually, those were demerit badges. But I’m damn proud of my Beverage Drinking Demerit badge, followed by my Belching Demerit Badge. 

Q: When were first fascinated by science? Elizabeth Spann Craig 

A: When I burned the first house at the age of five. Oops. I wonder of the statutes of limitations has run out. 

Q: Which came first? Your interest in all things related to science in space or your desire to write speculative fiction? Susan Gourley / Kelly 

A: The space and science came first and manifested in the form of art. The writing came quite a bit later. I always thought I would make a living off art. Roger Dean, artist of Yes albums, was my inspiration. Life is full of surprises. 

Q: When are we going to Mars? David P. King 

A: You and me? Dude, let’s go this weekend. We'll have an intergalactic kegger! 

Bonus Points If You Name This Movie

Q: How many other versions of you are there that exist in alternate dimensions? Dl Hammonds 

A: Since there are infinite dimensions, there are infinite Stephen Todd Tremps out there. I hope they all don’t find a wormhole and come here. Think Multiplicity with Michael Keaton and Andie MacDowell. 

Marshawn Lynch: Definitely an Alien

Q: Do you believe life (extraterrestrials) exist in other parts of the universe? Chrys Fey 

A: I think they’ve arrived here and have taken over people such as politicians, famous athletes, and entertainers. Obama, Hilary, all the Bushes, Marshawn Lynch, the Kardashians (Spoiler Alert: the Kardashians are actually the Kargrandes from Alex Cavanaugh’s What Are The Kargrandes. 

Q: If you had a one time use wormhole in a suitcase when you were younger, in what situation would you have used it as an escape route? :) Jemi Fraser 

A: Getting that restraining order from Farah Fawcett. And Mary Tyler Moore. And Ginger and Maryann. Genie to. 

Q: What do you see as the next likely evolution of our species? Samantha Dunway Bryant 

A: We are all DEVO. D-E-V-O. 

Q: Do people with webbed feet still use swim fins when scuba diving? LD Masterson 

A: How the heck did that rumor get started? Oh yeah. Me. 

Did You Know: In July 2015, NASA’s spacecraft New Horizons will complete a nearly-decade-long journey to fly by Pluto, and reveal humanity's first close-up look at the distant dwarf planet. 

Fun Fact: Pluto never made a full orbit around the sun from the time it was discovered until its declassification. 

A to Z Co-Host Bio: Stephen Tremp writes Speculative Fiction and embraces science and the supernatural to help explain the universe, our place in it, and to write one of a kind thrillers. His novels are enhanced by discoveries, breakthroughs and current events in many fields of science. Understanding Albert Einstein’s famous equation E=MC2 explains how the natural and the supernatural co-exist and compliment each other. 

Stephen Tremp has a B.S. in information systems, an MBA in Global Management and a background in information systems, management, and finance. He draws from this background to write one of a kind thrillers. He lives in Orange county, CA with his wife and two daughters, a maltepoo dog, parrot, and hamster. 

Target Readers: My books will have strong appeal to 18-44 year old men and women with some college education. In addition, since the novel is written in an amalgam of genres, it will please a wide variety of audiences including thriller, science fiction, suspense, young adult, and even a little romance. 

Finally: Don't forget about the Weekend Follies at my blog. You need a good chuckle for all the hard work you put in during the week! Well, that’s it. Now you know me a little better. Thanks for stopping by. You can visit me at my Website Breakthrough Blogs.