Special Challenge Participant Feature – Jamie at Mithril Wisdom!

One of the highlights of the A to Z Challenge included visiting Jamie Gibbs at Mithril Wisdom every day. A fantasy and metal dude, Jamie’s theme just rocked! So I asked him to join us today and give us a little insight…

Your Challenge theme involved fantasy and metal music. (Which I thought was wicked cool.) What made you merge the two together?

I've been listening to power and folk metal since I was 17, and it's given me a lost of inspiration in my writing. There's a whole lot of imagery in the music of that genre that other musical styles can't reach, but it's pretty niche and doesn't get a whole lot of recognition. It's very similar to fantasy as a literary genre - it tends to get sneered at by 'more established' genres but it's got such huge potential in terms of imagery and imagination.

Which song and band comprised your favorite post?

Ooo, don't make me choose! *quickly rilfes through A-Z posts*. That's a really hard one to nail down. I'm going to go for my M is for Mithril post (before anyone says anything, my blog's name did not influence the decision at all). The song is Durnir's Forge by Dragonland. The song itself is pretty badass (a hero venturing into the bowels of a dwarf fortress to gain the help of the dwarf king in order to overthrow an evil tyrant? What's not to love) but the entire album is amazing.

What usually grips me most of all about these kinds of albums is that I can perfectly imagine them being performed on the stage, like a rock opera/heavy metal musical. That's when you know you've struck gold, and this album Under the Grey Banner has all those qualities.

You mentioned science fiction once or twice – think you might want to tackle science fiction and metal music next year?

Sci-fi would be pretty sweet; there's definitely a good number of sci-fi inspired power metal songs out there (like one called Ironhead about an alien cowboy robot. It can get pretty crazy). The genre can go to some pretty dark places though, so maybe a sci-fi/horror theme is on the cards. People seemed to get a kick out of the fantasy songs, so it's possible!

You’re a D&D geek, aren’t you? Favorite type of character to play?

Oh boy, I suppose this is confession time. I've never actually played D&D. I played the kids version years ago, but real D&D I've never touched. I've always wanted to try it out, and I'm a big Warhammer geek as a way of compensating. Right now, though, Skyrim is taking up most of my life. I tend to opt for assassins when I play video games and mages in any other kind of RPG. Hurling fireballs at unsuspecting folk is definitely the way to go.

What do you blog about the other eleven months of the year?

I do my best to whittle down the massive pile of books on my to be read shelf, and I like to share the things I find online that tickle my geek bones. I've recently started writing fiction again, so expect to see more of that and some writing tips and tricks I find along the way.

You studied Egyptology in college. Any interesting stories? Find any mummies?

There's a long story involving beer, a jacuzzi, grenades, a 7 day ban from Egypt and a schizophrenic geologist, but I don't want to bore the readers with that. I didn't find any mummies, sadly, but I did help uncover a burial chamber in Luxor. I was lucky enough to be part of the team that helped excavate the tomb at the time (and my camera was the only one to hand when they broke in, so I got all the photos!) Getting into the burial chamber did involve belly crawling through a narrow gap filled with limestone chips and a 40 foot drop on the ricketiest ladder known to humankind. It was totally worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

You’re engaged – does the future Mrs. Jamie Gibbs like fantasy and metal music?

Not as much as I'd like :) She's much more eclectic than me when it comes to music so she's more tolerant of my musical tastes than I am of hers. She's just as big a geek as I am, though, and almost as big a fantasy fan too (I'm hoping she's not reading this!). She takes more from the music side of things than the imagery, so I need to wear her down a little more before she likes some of the weird bands I show her.

Jamie, you rock!

Co-host Ninja Captain Alex is the author of CassaStar and CassaFire and his blog can be found HERE

Call Attention to Your Blog or Get the Promotion You Need

Be My Guest   

        You may have often heard that guest posting is a great way to bring more readers to your blog.  It's a tactic that can work well.   As a guest blogger you can reach readers who might not have heard of your blog before.  You can even venture off into topics that you might not normally cover on your own blog.  Guest blogging is an effective way to hone your writing chops and to step out beyond your own blogging community to tap into a larger one.

           Blog tours and guest promotional posts are standard procedure for many bloggers who have something they want to spread the word about.   Many authors take advantage of guest blogging to pitch new book releases.  You have probably even seen guest bloggers trying to draw attention to favorite charities and causes.  When you've got something that you want to tell others about, you should take advantage of every outlet that is available to you.

            Some of you may be too shy or uncertain of yourself to ask other bloggers if you can be a guest on their blogs.   If what you've got to say is important enough to you then maybe it's time to step out of that comfort zone of your own blog and speak out on some other blogs.   Now's your opportunity.   There are blogs looking for your guest posts.

Guest posting opportunities await!

           Tossing It Out  -- This summer and into September I will be hosting guest bloggers during my Hijack This Blog! campaign.  Click here for details.   Click here for schedule and application.

            Wrote By Rote  -- I look for guest bloggers year round on my memoir blog that publishes every Saturday.  Posts remain at the top of the page for an entire week to give your guest post maximum exposure. I'm interested in memoir writing or helpful articles about writing memoirs.

            A Faraway View -- One of the most unique writing opportunities comes on my dream blog A Faraway View.  This blog also publishes only once a week so posts stay current for the entire week following posting.  Anything about dreams is welcomed.   Topics that have yet to be covered are non-psychological dream interpretation, dreams as prophecy, and dreams as related to literature.  Any other topics are certainly welcomed.  Dream study is a fascinating field and it's fun to write about.   Tell us about your dreams or dream experiences.

           Blogging from A to Z Blog --  We are always receptive to guest posts on this blog you are visiting now.   We are interested in all topics here.  Priority is given to those who have been past A to Z participants, but anyone is welcomed as well.   Posts can be about the A to Z Challenge, blogging, writing, or just about anything else you want to write about.  Go to the "Contact Us" page by clicking the tab at the top of the page and send us an email or leave a comment on this post and we'll set you up.

             Kid Lit Reviews -- Sue is having to take a blogging break due to health problems and she's looking for guest bloggers for a while.  She could use some help or at least a word of encouragement.  Go to her site for complete information.

        So there you have it.  Some great blogging opportunities are right there for you to step up and claim as your own.  My Hijack This Blog! campaign has been a tremendous success so far with several bloggers trying guest posting for the first time.  Try it--you'll have a good time and should make a few new blogging friends.

Related articles

• Hijack This Blog!

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• Guest Post at the #atozchallenge Site!

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• 5 Tips for Becoming a Better Guest Blogger

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Alphabet Remix - Time is Ticking

These A to Z Challenge blogging ideas are brought to you by Nicole from The Madlab Post...

It’s time for The Alphabet Remix - A Writing Prompt Idea Engine Treating A to Z Blogging Avoidance Disorders

TIME tends to be a popular subject during the A to Z Challenge, and no, I’m not referring to TIME magazine -- although you can write about that publication if you struggle with finding topics for Letter T in April. From Time Management tips at Tossing It Out to Time Traveling at Vive le Nerd and It’s Raining Blue Umbrellas, blog posts highlighting the way people spend their time is one trend in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge that some of you might want to write about, yet avoid doing so, in an effort to not cause visitors to think “been there, read that!” when visiting your blog.

So, here are some additional blogging ideas about TIME to consider for Letter T the next time you find yourself reluctant to chase the clock because you don’t want to look like a one-trick pony or like you're following in the shadows of bloggers who already wrote about it.

Timeless Phrases

Blog about phrases that have the word TIME in them such as “Time is of the essence,” “In the nick of Time” etc. and what they mean to you in various situations such as shopping, work, dating, road rage, exercising, aging or any other subject where this phrase may apply. Another possible approach is to blog about whether you think a certain TIME related phrase is logical or illogical. A phrase like “Time-Sensitive” creates a sense of urgency for many people, however, you could share your opinions on when the use of this phrase is valid and when it is not. For example - 9-1-1 calls are time-sensitive conversations versus rushing your roommate off of the phone so that you can tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about the semi-annual sale at Victoria’s Secret.

Timelines

There are many directions that you can go in when blogging about timelines. If you’re on Facebook, then write a blog post about whether you are in favor of (or against or indifferent to) the timeline feature that they launched on that website. You could also track your journey through your experience in weight loss, graduating from college, healing after divorce or hardship, renovating your house, restoring an old building or raising a kid, etc. by posting photos and dates representing each milestone moment or depicting your progress. Show readers how you got from where you started to where you are now, no matter if it took a long TIME or short amount of TIME.

Timing

Consider a point in your life when the phrase “Timing is everything” had an impact on you and then blog about that experience. This could encompass almost anything such as wanting to end a relationship with someone but deciding to wait (or not wait) until after a holiday, birthday, surgery, etc. to do so -- or realizing that despite being 20 minutes late to work due to traffic, you missed a dangerous police shootout and hostage situation that occurred 30 minutes earlier, in the building where your job is located -- or calling the radio station one more time before giving up after five tries, and the sixth call led to you winning those Bruce Springsteen tickets.

No matter what the case may be or how a situation was (or is) presented, if you had a feeling that timing IS everything at one time or another in your life, then blog about it.


Guess what...you can still also blog about TIME MANAGEMENT by remixing the topic into the following subject: Write a blog post that describes your position on texting with regards to managing time. While many people think texting is a particular convenient cell phone feature, you can blog about why you agree or disagree, in comparison to voice calls.


Yep, you guessed it, TIME TRAVELING is open for A to Z Blogging business as well, when you consider a different way to look at the topic: Blog about what you would tell your 16 year-old self if about dieting, smoking, bullying, drinking, sex, school, competition, etc. if you could travel back in time to your teenage years. Want to get a little adventurous? Ask the same question to three friends or family members who are 10-20 years apart in age...and then list your three responses in a blog post. This option could also work for Letter G on the subject of Generational Gaps, but you get the picture!
Now for some Friday Fun Time housekeeping, the winner of last week’s Alphabet Soup game is....

Tina Downey at Life is Good

This is Tina’s second win in a row, so her Alphabet Wizard status continues with a prize package that includes: the choice of letter to be covered in the next Alphabet Soup game and the option of selecting the topic* for my next Monday Movie Meme (*Must be a topic/theme that has not been previously covered). She unscrambled all eight Theatrical Title Twisters correctly.

Here are the answers from last week:

1. The Terminator
2. Transformers
3. The Transporter
4. Trainspotting
5. Tangled
6. Takers
7. Tropic Thunder
8. Trois

Congratulations to Tina and may you all have a great weekend!

Need some extra blogging motivation? Sign up for the Monday Movie Meme, a weekly writing and memory activity that will have you thinking about movies in a whole new light. New topics are posted every Monday!
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NICOLE
Blog: The Madlab Post
Also @MadlabPost on Twitter

E=MC2 ... Let's Have Little Fun!

Hi everyone, and thanks for stopping by the Official A to Z Challenge Website. My name is Stephen Tremp and I post here every 1st and 3rd Thursday of every month with something fun, different, and exciting in the world of science.

Today I thought we’d have a little fun with a Mass to Energy Calculator and get a peek into Einstein’s famous equation E=mc². According to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, matter and energy are simply different forms of the same thing. Energy can be turned into matter, and matter back into energy. Pretty cool stuff. But wait, there's more!

Energy is equal to matter times the speed of light squared. We don't have space to go into what this means, but think that multiplying a small unit of mass by 186,000 miles a second or 700 million miles an hour. It doesn't take an Einstein to make the connection this is a very powerful number.

Example: If you consider all the energy in the full kilogram of water, which contains hydrogen and oxygen atoms, Einstein's formula tells us the amount of energy this mass would be equivalent to is the total energy close to 10 million gallons of gasoline. Now that's a lot of energy!

Fun Facts: Check out this Mass To Energy Calculator (you’ll have to scroll down a bit) to show the amount of energy if a particular quantity of matter were completely converted to energy. For example, one pound of mass has the potential to release almost 10 megatons of TNT. 100 pounds = 974 megatons of TNT (a megaton is one million tons).

Take a few moments and plug is some numbers. You can quickly begin to see the awesome and amazing power available in our world.

Question: Should we pursue methods to convert mass to energy more efficiently (current methods are coal, oil, nuclear plants)? Or do recent events in Japan tell us we should proceed with caution or stop for a while?

If you feel this blog is worthy, please select the appropriate icon below such as Twitter. And as always, thanks for stopping by and supporting the A to Z Challenge Website throughout the year!

Stephen Tremp, author of BREAKTHROUGH and OPENING, blogs at Breakthrough Blogs. Stop by and say hello. And feel free to Tweet this post if you think it is worthy.

Post A-to-Z Road Trip Check-in (Rest Stop)

Hello out there in Blog-Land!  Hopefully, everyone has recovered in full from the A-to-Z Challenge and is busy enjoying their summer (or winter, for those of you in the southern hemisphere).  

We're well aware that summer is a busy time, so the Post A-to-Z Road Trip is meant to be nice and laid back.  We're a couple weeks in, though, so how about a quick check-in to see if anyone's making any progress?  Even if you've visited one blog, that's progress!  Everyone's got to stop at a rest stop on a road trip, so this is rest stop number one.  Time to kick the tires, check the oil and clean those bugs off the windshield.

I'm not going to lie.  I'm still trying to catch up with the comments on my blog.  School's out, my kids are home, and we are keeping busy, which is wonderful.  Also, I started a new novel!  Yay!  On top of that, Tina and I are both participating in BuNoWriMo (thus starting a new novel!)  So I am, admittedly, busy, and I know I'm not the only one.  I have gotten through a couple blogs when I've had a little bit of time here or there, and I'm still delighted with new blogs I'm finding.  However, it's a slow process.

So...check in!  Let us know if you've been road tripping.  Have you discovered any blogs you'd like to share?  Feel free to do so in the comments.  Also, we'd love to hear how June is treating you.  Anything interesting or fun to report?  Any big plans? 

Now pass me another pina colada and the map; I need to figure out where I'm heading to next.

Your Post A-to-Z Road Trip Hostesses,

Shannon L.
The Warrior Muse

&

Tina D.
Life is Good