O is for Optimism

If you’ve gotten to this point in the Challenge, it means you’re safely over the half-way hump and well on your way to joining the survivor ranks at the end of the month.

Although I intended to write all my posts before April set in, I was caught flat-footed because of a number of other projects I’ve been trying to straddle. At times, panic threatened to set in, but since I’ve done the Challenge for a few years, I was upbeat about the chances of being able to finish.

Optimism counts for a lot in anything we do. If we tackle challenges with a positive attitude and the feeling that we will be successful, then we’ve already won. Negativity tells us what we can’t do, but optimism says hey, I’m here, ready to make the most of each opportunity.

I know we’re on the side of having positive energy, right? So on we go to the next letter and the next ... you get the idea.

What are your strategies for keeping a positive frame of mind and believing for good things?

N is for Not Giving Up

Yay! We're halfway through the challenge! How's it been going for everyone? Have you made new blogging buddies? Found some great themes you can't wait to check in on every day? I know I have! 

And yet, as fun as A to Z absolutely is, it's not called a blog challenge for nothing. It's meant to test you blogging perseverance. Twenty-six posts in one month is no small feat. And it's around this point in the challenge when bloggers tend to start running into walls here and there. Again, I know I have. 

But try not to lose sight of the goal here. A community of bloggers, coming together to push themselves and one another to blogging excellence. And you can do it. Just keep plugging away. Trust me, the harder it feels right now, the greater the reward when you finally cross that finish line at the end of April. 

So congratulations for NOT giving up on the A to Z Challenge. You're a survivor, you're gonna make it! And we'll be there waiting for you when you reach your goal!


A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging at Pensuasion. 

"M" Marketing Experiment - With AtoZ Gear!

Greetings AtoZ Challengers, We are at the half point of the 2015 A to Z Challenge and we thought those who are going to the finish line might like to tell the world and show your support. We thought those "SURVIVORS" might like to get your very own design by myself and supported by the Hosts of this challenge. Here is where you go "CLICK HERE".

We are trying our very first "Marketing Campaign and Experiment", see what the possibilities might be and thought we would share it all with you. I have been working with this company "NEATOSHOP" for a few years and they are one of the top in their business. So show your support, wear this proudly and enjoy the remaining A to Z Challenge. We will answer questions, so if you have some please ask...

Jeremy
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
HOLLYWOOD NUTS
http://www.beingretro.com/

Let's have a dance party!

Congratulations, everyone! You're almost halfway through the Challenge! How are you feeling?

I think... it's time for a dance party!

Let's dance! Let Loose, and check out the dancers in this incredible A-Z of dance video:



Keep it up, y'all :)

AJ Lauer blogs at her author site. Her theme this year is interactive fiction, so you should stop by and help shape the story she's writing this month. Her book Armageddon: Pick Your Plot is available on Amazon, and you can get a free prequel to the book by signing up for her email list!

She's also interviewed as the L post today at Lloyd of Gamebooks (so many L's!!).

K is for Karma

Karma: Hindu and Buddhist ethical doctrine that the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence will decide their future fate. 

A common theme to theories of Karma is its principle of causality. Basically, good actions lead to good effects and bad deeds will produce bad effects. We have similar terms. You reap what you sow. Point a finger at someone and you are pointing three back at yourself. 

I try really hard not to judge. But I have to admit, when I see something bad happen to a person who is a real jerk, well, I’m glad I was there to see it. Like the time a total jerk in an expensive suit verbally abused a woman in line at Starbucks. When he left a car drove through a large puddle of water by the curb and drenched the guy head to toe. Karma, baby. Oh yeah. 

K is for Key Cards: Don't forget to stop by my regular blog for another intersting post regarding Key Kards by Clicking Here.

Question: Do you believe in Karma or that a person reaps what they sow? Or is this just a bunch of superstitious hooey that is scientifically unfounded?

Stephen Tremp is a Speculative Writer and blogs at Breakthrough Blogs. His theme for the 2015 Blogging A to Z Challenge is The Supernatural and Paranormal. His latest work, Salem’s Daughters, is due for release Labor Day Weekend 2015.

Sunflower Update

           Here is the updated sunflower photo taken on Saturday April 11th.  It's looking a bit raggedly perhaps, but still standing strong.  Hopefully I'll have a good harvest of seeds from this flower.  For those who might be wondering what the heck this sunflower photo is all about you can find the story at A Special A to Z Tribute.

Making Progress

       We are approaching the halfway point of the 2015 Blogging from A to Z April Challenge and it appears that the majority of those who originally signed on to the list are still going strong.  To date we've lost maybe 150 of those who originally added their links to the list.  Most of those either backed out and asked to be removed or were Link List opportunists who had no intention of participating.

         The A to Z Team of co-hosts and their assistance teams have been busy scouring the list for bloggers who have fallen by the wayside and stopped posting or never started.   We are trying to keep a clean list so you don't have to waste your time on the non-participants.   I think overall we are doing a better job than any previous year of keeping the list cleaned up.   Still a few get missed.  Some of you have been reporting problem sites to us and that has been a great help to us.  Feel free to let us know if you run across a site that you don't think should be on the Linky List and we'll check it out.

         Just a notice to those of you who have fallen behind but don't wish to be removed from the list quite yet.  At least update your blog with an A to Z post and if there is a problem note that in your most recent posts so we'll know what's going on with you.   We don't like to have to remove links, but in fairness to everyone else if you aren't keeping up with the Challenge then you shouldn't expect the rest of us to be reading old posts.

           Also, there are some blogs that can be a bit confusing to the new visitor.   Make sure it is clear on the landing page that you are participating in the A to Z Challenge and be sure that each A to Z post is clearly identified with tags, a badge image, or a mention that your post is A to Z related.  This is especially true if you do multiple daily postings and your A to Z posts get covered up by other posts.

          I applaud this year's team and helpers and all of you bloggers for helping us maintain the list.  And a big acknowledgement goes to Alex J. Cavanaugh for maintaining the list so well along with all of the other things he's got going with his blogging and book release.

Interested in an Official A to Z 2015 T-Shirt?

          This week be watching co-host blogs and this site for a special announcement about an A to Z souvenir that will be offered to show your support and participation in the 2015 A to Z Challenge.  We've been asked about T-shirts in the past and this year we're going to run a marketing test to see what kind of interest there would be in this.    Be watching this week for the official announcements.  I believe we'll start seeing something on Wednesday April 15th.

          Have you been keeping up okay with A to Z this year?   Have you found many sites that need to be removed from the list?     Is an A to Z Tee-Shirt something that might interest you?

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J: Juggling

Don't be as useless as a muggle,

A hundreds things you can juggle.

Dozens of balls to toss and keep in the air,

Doing laundry so you have something to wear.

No time to go to bed and in your pillow snuggle,

Get to that blogging, lots of comments to juggle.

Don't forget to go to work and earn money,

Living in a tent or your car isn't funny.

Being tired and stretched thin makes you lovable,

Hugs to those who can juggle and adorable.

Eat something good and exercise shouldn't be a miss.

Talk to your family and give them some a nice kiss.

There are hundreds of blogs for you to see,

Drink lots of wine, coffee or iced tee.

This blogging party is so much fun,

Even if you can't meet everyone.

How many different things to you juggle each day? What life issues are getting in your way? Your comment doesn't have to rhyme like my post. Your visit is what counts the most.

I is for Inspiration

What inspires you?

The A to Z Challenge is off to a great start, and blogs all around the world are booming with the alphabet. We are already done with Week 1! But what happens if you suddenly find yourself without inspiration for the next day's post?

First and foremost: Do NOT give up! The A to Z community stands behind you, and we all want you to keep blogging :) Just imagine how many people will come to your blog before the end of April.

Here are some things you can do for inspiration:

1. Stop worrying and visit some blogs! Their themes and topics might spark a new idea in your head.

2. Look at some random word generators and word listings. Keep clicking away, something is bound to come up!

3. Listen to some music! Music is great for inspiration, and also a great topic. Think in songs, not words!

4. Open up a thesaurus, or, even better, a dictionary. Take an adventurous trip into another language! There are so many words out there waiting to be discovered by you...

5. Don't take yourself too seriously. It is okay to stumble, even if you are following a theme. Make it playful and funny, and move on. You'll pick the serious stuff back up tomorrow.

Happy A to Z!

H as in How Do You Make it Work? - by Matthew MacNish

Hello A to Z Challengers!

How has your April Challenge been going so far?

Personally, I've found a great balance between feeling not so much overwhelmed, but pleasantly challenged, and having great fun discovering new blogs and bloggers at the same time.

Hard is why we call it a challenge.

It's not easy writing a blog post every day except Sunday for an entire month, and even we co-hosts who are seasoned bloggers don't have the easiest time making it happen without freaking out a little bit.

How do we pull it off?

Well first of all, every blogger is different, but I would wager we co-hosts all use similar strategies. First, we schedule our posts ahead of time. There's nothing wrong with flying by the seat of your pants and drafting your posts the morning of for regular blogging (I do it all the time myself) but it would be really difficult to make that work for the A to Z April Blogging Challenge, and any time you did spend writing a post would be time you couldn't spend visiting blogs.

I don't actually write all 26 posts before the challenge even beings, but I do write about the first 10-15, and then I write another week's worth of posts each Sunday until they're all done. You can of course pick whatever strategy works for you, but we would highly recommend figuring out some plan for writing as many of your posts ahead of time as possible.

Another thing we do is get Help.

Not only do we have another fabulous list of Co-Hosts this year, but all of us have minions/assistant/helpers as well. When you're checking a list of literally thousands of blogs, it helps to not have to do it all alone.

My assistants this year are Sylvie Hanes from Life from An Optimist's Point of View, and Carrie-Anne Brownian/Ursula Hartlein from Welcome to My Magick Theatre.

They help us go through the list, and highlight great blogs with great themes, and also find people who aren't participating, or might need a reminder if they aren't up to date with their posts.

Have any questions?

Feel free to ask questions here, in the comments.

You can also reply to the co-host responsible for your section of the list in the email we sent announcing the challenge.

You can also ask questions by emailing us at contactatozteam@gmail.com. Find us on Facebook, and Google + as well.

Thanks for dropping by, and I hope you are all enjoying the Challenge and discovering tons of great new blogs! - Matthew MacNish

You can find me at My Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr

The Letter G

You've set your GOAL. You're posting on your blog every day for 26 days, and you're visiting as many blogs as you can daily.

Were you nuts?

Of course. That's part of the fun.

Here's a song to motivate you to move ahead and post that letter H. Listen to it, then charge ahead.

You can do it.

ONE LETTER AT A TIME.

See you at Z!

A to Z Challenge - F - Go Farther!

We are one week into the Challenge!

It may seem like we still have a long way to go. But don’t give up now. Push yourself. You CAN go father then you think. Dare to dream big and keep pressing onward. You will amaze yourself at what you are able to accomplish if you just refuse to quit.

And when you aim for the moon, sometimes you do land among the stars.

I know, because I wrote one book and then decided to go a little bit farther. And today, my fourth book releases. I definitely went farther than I imagined!

Dragon of the Stars

By Alex J. Cavanaugh

Science Fiction – Space Opera/Adventure/Military

Print ISBN 9781939844064, EBook ISBN 9781939844057

What Are the Kargrandes?

The ship of legends…

The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, son of a Hyrathian Duke. Poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen’s daughter, he’ll stop at nothing to achieve his goals.

But when the Alliance denies Hyrath’s claim on the planet of Kavil and declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray. Entrenched in battle and told he won’t make captain, Aden’s world begins to collapse. How will he salvage his career and future during Hyrath’s darkest hour?

One chance remains–the Dragon. Lost many years prior, the legendary ship’s unique weapon is Hyrath’s only hope. Can Aden find the Dragon, save his people, and prove he’s capable of commanding his own ship?

Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Kobo - Indigo - Amazon UK

E is for Exorcism

Few words in any language can illicit such strong emotions as the word exorcism. Most cultures from the beginning of time have believed in and practiced some form of exorcism. 

Can a person be possessed, inhabited, made sick, or controlled by an outside malevolent force? Can certain events in a person’s life trigger an open a door for such a thing to happen? And if so, can that hostile presence be excorcized. 

I believe mankind is a three-fold being of body, soul and spirit. So the question arises, can something invade a person, pitch a tent, and set up shop? And if so, would this happen in the realm of the body, soul, or spirit? Or can it latch on and hitch a ride, following a person around and being a general al-around pain in the ass? 

In an exorcism, the process is relatively simple. It comes down to authority. The trespassing spirit is kicked out by an authority that is bigger, stronger, and badder. That’s it in a nutshell. 

That being said, the person possessed has to want to be delivered. If they do not want to cough up the spirit, well, there’s not much that a bigger authority to can do because the host, for whatever reasons, decides to allow the evil presence to remain. Power would be a good example. Addiction is another. Some people enjoy a good pity party. The choices are many. 

Groaner of the Day: What happens when you don’t pay your exorcist bills? You become repossessed. Rimshot please. 

Stephen Tremp is a Speculative Writer and blogs at Breakthrough Blogs. His theme for the 2015 Blogging A to Z Challenge is The Supernatural and Paranormal. His latest work, Salem’s Daughters, is due for release Labor Day Weekend 2015.

A Special A to Z Tribute: Tina Downey

         On this day when many of you celebrate Easter I wish to greet you in your celebration of that important event in our history.   Spring is well underway as is the 6th yearly Blogging from A to Z April Challenge.  We are off to a wonderful start and I want to thank all of you for keeping your posts active during this time.   I've been finding some outstanding posts on an array of topics as I'm sure you have been reading as well.  

       There is a beloved member of the A to Z community that I want to acknowledge and she is one that I'm sure that more than a few of us miss greatly.  I also have a story to tell that has inspired this special Sunday post.   I'll let you decide the significance of this story.

Dedicated to Tina Downey

      I've received a number of inquiries as to why the 2015 A to Z badge says "For Tina" on it.  Some thought that they had received the wrong badge that was intended for someone else.   In order to answer this question for any others who might be wondering why Tina's name is on the badge it's because this year's challenge has been dedicated to Tina Downey who passed away last August 23rd.  For several years of the A to Z Challenge Tina had been a strong motivator and the backbone of the April event, working on A to Z throughout the years as her labor of love for A to Z to make each April more successful that the previous one.

      If you'd like to read more about Tina and her A to Z legacy you can read my tribute or the A to Z Team tribute to her.  On September 8th, 2014 there was also a A to Z community wide tribute to Tina on many blogs of those who loved and appreciated her.   My Sunflowers for Tina tribute tells the story of what I did in her honor and that leads up to my story of what happened recently.

A Message from Tina?

     

      A couple days prior to the Sunflowers for Tina tribute I planted 20 to 30 sunflower seeds in a area behind my house.  About half of these were planted in the area shown above.   Sometime in late January--about the time the A to Z list opened-- I noticed a plant sprouting that I initially took to be a weed of some sort, but in hopes that it was one of the sunflowers actually growing I let it be.   Over the next month or so this plant began to grow rapidly until it was over 6 feet high.  I watched daily for a flower to bloom as April approached.  A few days prior to the first of April signs of a impending bloom became evident.

     On April 1st, the opening day of the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, the blossom opened.  In the photo above you can see the complete sunflower plant.

   Here is a closer view of the bloom as it appeared on April 1st.

     On April 2nd the flower had opened a bit more.

      By April 3rd the sunflower bloom was becoming more robust.

       Here is how the flower looked on April 4th.   The plant appears to be doing well and I'll be keeping watch over the course of April to monitor its progress.

What Do You Think?

       Is this somewhat miraculous?   Or merely a well-timed coincidence?    I'll leave it to you to decide.  All I know is that out of the over 20 seeds that I planted in drought-stricken California in what is lousy and perhaps even toxic soil and receiving no care other than a few rains, in my backyard one sunflower bloomed for Tina Downey on April 1st as the first day of the A to Z Challenge was underway.

        Let us know in the comments what you think.  What I do know is that right outside my kitchen window is a daily reminder of Tina and A to Z.  Every time I walk into my kitchen and look out the window there is one sunflower standing tall.   When I go into my backyard I take a moment to walk over to that flower and marvel.  Few of the things that I plant in my yard actually grow or remain for long if they do grow.  But there is one sunflower there now.  And at just the right time to watch over the A to Z Challenge.

         If you planted any sunflowers for Tina last fall, did any of yours appear yet?   What do you think about the uniquely timed appearance of my sunflower?

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D: Delegate

Are you doing everything yourself? Lots of us have a little OCD about keeping everything within our own realms of control. But to stay sane, you need to delegate a little bit.

Someone else can do the dishes tonight. How about having someone pitch in to do the laundry. The kids can exercise by walking the dog and taking out the trash.

How about that day job? Lunch at your desk? For this month, how about letting someone else volunteer for the extra workload.

Speaking of volunteering, don't get swamped by taking on too much at school events or with your child's sports teams. They can live without you for a month, Or pass out the responsibilities. Delegate others to do all those little time-consuming chores that you usually take care of.

A few things I delegated this month so far:
Husband took care of washing my car.
Son #3 was assigned to cleaning up the fallen branches out of the backyard. (dozens after this winter)
Son #2 bought pizza for dinner for everyone Wednesday night.
Husband did grocery shopping from my list.

As a co-host I have extra responsibilities but even those are delegated somewhat with the use of my Dragon Soldiers, the best delegates of all.

Laura Clipson, L. Diane Wolfe, Sabina Leybold, Ann Bennett, and Shantala are my Dragon Delegates and I couldn't keep up without them.

Have you delegated some responsibilities during April? What are you doing to make it all workable for you? Any chores you can delegate to someone else?

C is for Come on, A to Z-ers!

It's day three of the challenge, and things are just starting to heat up! How's everyone doing so far? Met some awesome new bloggers? 

The first few days can be a little overwhelming, with the plethora of new blogs to visit and comments on your own blog to keep up with. But don't worry! Just take it one day at a time. Once you get a routine down, it'll all come a little easier. 

Until then, here are a few tips that might help you along the way: 

- If you're not sure where to start, I find that it's always good to simply begin with the blog right after yours on the A to Z sign-up list. Give a quick comment to your A to Z List neighbor, and then proceed on from there. It's a great way to meet new bloggers you might have missed!

- We're all seen the list, and it is LONG. Don't worry about trying to visit every blog signed up for the challenge. Instead, come up with a manageable number of blogs per day and try to stick with that. If you only manage to make it to five, that's perfectly fine. 

- Don't forget to comment back on the bloggers who visited your blog. That's the best way to find blogs with similar interests and make lasting blog connections. 

And most importantly, don't forget to have fun. This is a blogfest people. Enjoy it! 

A to Z co-host S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging over at Pensuasion. 

B As In Babe Ruth

 

Who better to inspire a “B” post, than Babe Ruth himself? When deciding what to post, I thought of writing and its importance in my life, and sports, that I watch because those I love watch it, but isn’t my favorite pastime. Yet Babe seemed to have a lot to say to me today, and perhaps to you, no matter what you do. Here are a few Babe Ruth quotes that I felt spoke directly to us as folks who blog, no matter what about.

To begin, “Watch my dust” and “You just can't beat the person who never gives up” said exactly what I try to tell myself each time I hit a bump in the road.

As a writer, I have to make sure that the final product I release to the world must be the best I can make it. and I have to follow the steps, the guidelines that will help me reach that goal. So did Babe. “I had only one superstition. I made sure to touch all the bases when I hit a home run.”

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” Told me never to give up. To keep on swinging and make every try count, not just the ones I “hit.”

“Yesterday's home runs don't win today's games.” I can’t rest on my laurels and hope success will take care of itself. I must be in constant motion. Each time I finish one, I must begin a new creation.

 

“All I can tell them is pick a good one and sock it. I get back to the dugout and they ask me what it was I hit and I tell them I don't know except it looked good.” How do I know the work I’ve done is worth the time and effort I’ve put into it? I don’t! My last novel (released January 2015) was a different writing experience for me, so because it looked good, felt right, I stuck with it.

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.” I might write the books, but I have so many people who help make it the best it can be, experts who share their insights, beta readers who tell me what works and what doesn’t, artists who create my covers, my family and friends who keep me going. This is a team job alright and I’d be nothing without my team.

 With writing, it’s all or nothing. I can’t write without commitment to the project because it won’t gel. My work is only as good as the energy I put into it… “How to hit home runs: I swing as hard as I can, and I try to swing right through the ball... The harder you grip the bat, the more you can swing it through the ball, and the farther the ball will go. I swing big, with everything I've got. I hit big or I miss big. I like to live as big as I can.”

“Gee, its lonesome in the outfield. It's hard to keep awake with nothing to do.” Don’t slack off! Yes, take time to recharge batteries, of course, but never leave alone what you love too long. I hate to think readers might fall asleep while reading one of my books!