Introducing An Unconventional Alliance, Pam's #atozchallenge co-host Team!

I'm so thrilled to introduce you to this year's Unconventional Alliance! Why are are we the alliance? Because an alliance is like a party and who doesn't want to have a party everywhere they go? An Unconventional Alliance will be my team to help me get through the A to Z Challenge. There will be lots of partying and lots of work and lots of fun! Let me introduce you to the band team:

First up is our DJ. She'll be playing the music that will keep our toes tapping. Meet Shalini:  

Taking up the #atozchallenge for the third time in a row, I can already feel the adrenaline rush. Here's a lil' about me.

An IT Professional who decided to get married to an Olive Green and thus start a nomadic life - Began blogging only to note down the recipes she tried in her almost-burnt-down kitchen. Like any food blogger, 'Julie and Julia' is her inspiration.Music is her soul and she can be seen humming and dancing to the latest tunes played in the radio while trying out recipes in her kitchen. One day wanting to meet the one and only Gordon Ramsay, she cooks her heart out to bring a smile on her soldier's face. ツ She is also an ardent reader and a passionate dancer. She occasionally writes poems and stories as well.

Shalini blogs at Something's Cooking  and Tale of Two Tomatoes. Her other nickname may just be Mrs. Tomato. @onewidbrowneyes

Next is our lead singer Rajlakshmi.  When she's not rocking out on the mic, she might be cooking or taking beautiful photos.

A military brat hailing from Assam, I have lived in different parts of the country, experiencing the essence of various cultures in India. I often brag about the fact that I studied in 9 schools (No, I wasn’t kicked out :P ) and know 5 languages. Most days you would find me processing travel photos, blogging about ‘smarty’ siblings, trying my hands at Paper Quilling or watching the world - upside down. 

Java Developer by profession, Sydneysider, travelling is my passion, writing keeps my creativity alive, Yoga is a part of my lifestyle and, more often than not, I end up setting off the fire alarm while cooking.

I strongly believe in Karma - what goes around, comes around. And therefore, no matter how small, I avoid negativity. 

She blogs at The Twinkle Eyed Traveler, The Poetry Wagon, and Destiny's Child. I believe in Karma too. And cake. She tweets @Sunjhini

No party would be complete without a dance teacher! Meet  Claire. She'll show us all the moves so we can look our best on the dance floor. Claire is also passionate about children's books, which is also my passion.   

Hi, I’m Claire Annette and am joining the A-Z Challenge for the third time Yippee! I live and write in Central California. I’m passionate about kids and books and have made my career as a children’s librarian, reading specialist, and kindergarten teacher. I get my kid fix these days as a substitute teacher - yes, I actually think subbing is fun. I am a field trip planner extraordinaire and I combine my love of travel and kids’ book on my blog. Sign your permission slip and join me at A Field Trip Life. 

Claire blogs at A Field Trip Life and tweets  @claire_noland 

Here's Parul! She's the life of the party who will make sure everyone is having a good time. My teens would call her the Hype Woman because she's happy. 

HR Professional. Working Homemaker. Blogger. Wikipedian. Family Photographer. Engineer This is how I describe all that I do on an almost every day basis. I am Parul and I write for the love of expressing myself and giving my thoughts a voice.

I love my love, life, colors, watching the Sky and Sunsets. If I could get up early – Sun rises would have made it to the list. I started blogging three years ago and I wish I had started earlier. I always have personal stories to share and moments to feel excited for. I call my blog happiness and food cos I write about things that make me happy and in my posts, you will find food for thought.

If not writing, I am reading or editing Wikipedia. After work, you will find me on my couch with a cup of ginger tea and my laptop. A child at heart – I love playing games like Candy crush, Free cell, Klondike, Sudoku, Words, 2048 and every other thing. A social media enthusiast and a learner.

Taking up #atozchallenge for the second time and excited to see what it will bring this year. I am lesser prepared than last year and hence a bit nervous. Good luck everyone! 

She blogs at Happiness and Food.  She tweets at @parul2411

And, well, you know me, I'm the ring leader, partygoer who always wants cake. If you see the team around the Challenge, please say hello cuz they are here to help! Remember I'm @pamlovesbooks on Twitter. Say hello. 
Please?

And now, we dance. 

Adding the A to Z Challenge badge to your Wordpress Blog #atozchallenge

There have been some questions about adding the badge for the Challenge onto Wordpress blog pages. The process is different than it is for Blogger. I've made a short video where I demonstrate the process.

The theme I'm using in the video is Twenty Fourteen, which has two sidebars, one on either side. Depending on which theme you choose, there might be only one sidebar (the current default theme, Twenty Sixteen, is like this). The important thing is to position the badge so that visitors can see it when they come to your blog, preferably at the top of the sidebar. Be careful: there are one or two themes that don't have sidebars. You might want to stay away from those.
Let me know if you have any questions or problems doing this.

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John Holton
The Sound of One Hand Typing
The Sound of One Hand Typing FM

#atozchallenge Rocking the Challenge!

So, I think I've settled on a theme for the Challenge.

It's gonna be a really simple one. (I wonder if it may be too simple) But it will require help from the people who visit my blog. I think it will be an interesting way to gather information that I can use at a later date and people will probably have fun making their own contribution.

Usually, I choose to do something that will help others and since I've done the Challenge, I've collected enough data for several books. Alas, I haven't done any kind of compilation, which won't get done unless I put it on a list.

Never fear, we have time yet. But all the same, the Challenge isn't very far away! The next time I post here, I'm hoping to introduce my Joyful Brigade of helpers for the Challenge. We're getting ready to rock the Challenge. Are you? In the very slim even that you haven't signed up as yet, access the sign-up list here.

I haven't heard from a couple of my helpers, so if you're up for helping me check in on a set of blogs during the Challenge, please feel free to leave me a message here and I'll touch base with you.

So have you settled on a theme yet. Narrowed it down to a couple? Still waffling? Need more time because you still can't decide yet? 

#atozchallenge: Introducing Damyanti and her team, D's Company!

 I've been part of the A to Z family for a while, and many of you know me as Damyanti from Daily (w)rite.

I'm camera-shy, so the spotlight is on Guilie Castillo, who is introducing herself and her team mates, (my gang) this year : D's Company.

 Take it away, Guilie!
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The A-to-Z Challenge is, undisputedly, the blogging event of the year. In a community where blogfests and hops abound, that's saying something. And the magic was there from the beginning. In 2010, around 100 bloggers took up Arlee Bird's call to arms; by the following year participation had increased more than tenfold: over 1300 blogs signed up. And that number grows every year. Why? What's this A-to-Z magic that sweeps the blogosphere as soon as the sign-up list opens in January?

• The community. No group of people is as welcoming, and as fascinating to get to know, as bloggers. They come from such varied backgrounds, product of such different cultures and lives, that their posts become doors into entirely new worlds.
• The exposure. Nothing grows a blog's audience like the A-to-Z. Nothing, short of being featured on the Huffington Post, exposes your blog to as many potential readers, fans, and friends. 
• The relationships. You will forge unprecedented friendships. There's something about the hectic atmosphere in April that... Well, you know. The best friendships are forged in fire.
• The challenge. It's a human trait. We love challenges. We might enter the A-to-Z world hopelessly (and, honestly, kind of adorably) clueless as to what exactly we've signed up for, and we might finish the month exhausted and certifiably brain-dead, but we can't wait for it to be April again.

It's such a rush to see that list of 27 posts. We did it. Our creativity stood the test. We committed to something and we actually saw it through. That sense of achievement is a high that's hard to pass over. Last year I seriously considered sitting the Challenge out. Among other pressing things, I was behind — like, months behind — on the edits for my first novel, due for publication in spring 2015. But I signed up anyway. And I didn't finish. I skipped one letter outright, and my last post was a three-in-one. Should I have abstained? You know what? Nah. Finish or fail, the A-to-Z is the highlight of my blogging year. 

This year I'm joining co-host Damyanti Biswas's team, and it's my pleasure to introduce the fabulous women who make up D's Company.

 Vidya Sury Lives in hot-and-happening Bangalore. Tries to live mindfully, doing what she loves and loving what she does as a mom, writer, blogger, editor, and social media enthusiast.

 Misha Gericke Lives close to Cape Town, South Africa. She's either writing, editing, or working as a fresh produce exporter.
  
Andrea Michaels A writer in love with the sky and the ocean and brown eyes in general. Regularity and structure aren't her strong points but she makes awesome pancakes.

 Soumya Prasad The group's second Bangalorite is a hard-core techie. Her name means "one who is soft-spoken", which she considers the biggest irony of her life. A lover of love and all things related to it.

 Samantha Geary Jones Speculative fiction author living in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains with her lover, her two adorable little girls, and a border collie sidekick. Freelance writer for film, TV, and the gaming and trailer music industries.  

Guilie Castillo Mexican author and dog rescuer living in Curaçao. When not writing she'll be found wandering the island's wilderness with her seven dogs. 

Damyanti Biswas Blogger, author, troublemaker. A to Z cohost. An inept housewife, tea-and wine-lover.

We're all looking forward to getting to know you!
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Follow the A to Z Blogging team on our Facebook Page!
Email address is contactatozteam at gmail dot com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z. 
If you have a theme for you A to Z Challenge, sign up for the Theme Reveal!

We’ll hold Twitter chats on Thursdays at the tag #azchat at 9.00 PM EST. Please follow the Twitter and Facebook handles, and the hashtags in order to keep up with the conversation.

#atozchallenge Have you … Huh? Huh? Huh?

With the Challenge approximately a month away, now would be a good time to take stock of where we're at and what's left to be done. Have you …

   a.    Invited people to participate?

   b.    Shared information about the Challenge via social media?

   c.    Decided on a theme?

   d.    Signed up for the A-Z Theme Reveal,   which is on March 21, 2016?

   e.    Done any research on your topic of choice?

   f.     Written up any of your posts as yet?

   g.    Scheduled said posts for the designated dates?

   h.   Gone down the list of A-Z participants and checked out a few new blogs?

     If you haven't done any of the above, now is an excellent time to get moving so you'll have more time during the Challenge to blog hop, socialize, and stay ahead of the game.

Have fun as you prepare to rock the Challenge!