Themes That Rocked! Hauntings with Lexa Cain

Please welcome the awesome Lexa Cain, author of Soul Cutter.

You posted about hauntings for the Challenge – what made you choose that theme?

When Julie Flanders was releasing her novel, THE GHOSTS OF AQUINNAH, she did a bunch of blog posts and guest posts about haunted places. I loved those! I was sorry to see them end, so I did my part to take up where she left off.

I think many readers assumed I believe in ghosts and that’s why I did the posts. That isn’t true -- I just adore a good ghost story and like to wonder, “What if…?”

When searching for hauntings, which one surprised you the most?

All of them surprised and intrigued me! Sometimes I came across several for one letter and had a tough time choosing which one to write about.

Which letter was the most difficult?

“X” and “Z” were the hardest, but I’m pretty sure everyone had the same problem, and we all just did the best we could.

What country or area seemed to have the most hauntings?

I think the US had the most hauntings, but I think that’s probably because Americans really enjoy that kind of stuff and promote it. America even has a bunch of reality TV shows devoted to haunted places, mediums, psychics, debunking sightings, etc.

Where did you come across Kutna Hora's 'Bone' church?

I honestly can’t recall. I was surfing the net like the baddest big wave rider ever and whooshed through a lot of sites! All I know is when I stumbled across Kutna Hora -- it freaked me out! Of course, I had to include it. I put up several pictures because the sight of all those bones turned into furniture and chandeliers was just unbelievable!

Did you use any sites or just Google to find the haunted places?

Both. There are a ton of sites that have articles on haunted places. Most only detail hauntings in the US, but some have international places too.

Have you ever been to any of the places you featured?

No, although several people made comments on my blog about visiting the places I wrote about. None had supernatural encounters though. (And they sounded disappointed that they didn’t. lol)

If you participate in the Challenge next year, do you have a theme in mind?

No, but luckily, there’s a lot of time left for me to think about it.

I’m sure it will be just as cool as your theme this year. Thanks, Lexa!


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

#atozchallenge #roadtrip - Stormy keeps the rubber on the road.

 

Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
Looking back at the years gone by like so many summer fields

Running on - running on empty
Running on - running blind

(Running on Empty - Jackson Browne)

Welcome to leg six of the Post A-to-Z Road Trip!

Stormy the Weather Gnome and I are going to try to hit at least 20 new blogs a week from the Challenge list and tell you about a few of them in each of my posts.

When you go visit these awesome blogs, please make sure you tell them that you're visiting on the Post A to Z Road Trip!



Jeremy Hawkins - [Being Retro]

One of my favorite blogs any month of the year but this past April was especially wonderful!

26 letters devoted to my favorite Marvel movies, shows, characters and actors! I LOVE IT! Thank you, Jeremy! It's a magical place!


In sixty-nine I was twenty-one and I called the road my own
I don't know when that road turned onto the road I'm on


Nicki Elson - Nicki Elson's Not So Deep Thoughts

Nicki's theme was a constant stream of awesomeness. 90s Pop Culture Favorites! Books, movies and music to name just a few! And, of course, X for The X-Files!


Mina Burrows

Mina didn't pull any punches with her A-Z: Classic Monsters theme! Dragons, Kong, Orcs and The Thing are all highlighted in her April posts!


Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don't know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels

Running on - running into the sun
But I'm running behind


Lexa Cain

Lexa scared the crap out of me with her April theme. Hauntings: haunted places around the world! No place is safe!

Really, I don't believe in ghosts.
Well, I didn't.


Spacer Guy - Star Trek - Sci Fi Blog

This one may seem self explanatory, but its not. These 26 Star Trek posts are funny and interesting behind the scenes bits and other pieces of insightful information about all the Star Trek shows.

Thanks for visiting with us today!
Are you finding any great blogs on your trip?

The Season of Blogging

Do you know what it's like to sometimes feel like there’s not enough time in the day to post new content? Those of us who have had blogs for longer than a year have likely become broken down at one time or another, for one reason or another, in the struggle to keep our blogs going. Once it starts, the wave of procrastination, doubt and lack of interest in blogging can make us believe that our world doesn’t have room for our blogs at the moment.

It’s like a blogging breakdown happens, especially when writer’s block has reared its ugly head….again. Yet, it’s rarely noticeable as dirty dishes are piled mountain high in the kitchen sink because all the time spent working for the man required overtime this week. Plus, laundry needs to be done, dinner must be served and little Jimmy has baseball tryouts this weekend. Then there’s that sudden feeling technology overload once the cell phone starts ringing, alarms go buzzing and social media notifications pop up on the little screen. Oh wait…“The Real Housewives of Orange County” is coming on tonight and, well, the mere thought of blogging just elicits one big sigh, or maybe even a sense of sheer panic. 

Updating ones blog used to be a fun activity but now it just seems sooo last season. If this sounds like you and if you ever find yourself neglecting your blog or letting it fall by the wayside because, hey, life happens after all, remember this…

There is no right season or special sauce that determines when the time is right to get back into the swing of blogging.

As bloggers, we have to constantly work at putting out fresh content, out of respect for our readers, the platforms that we’ve built and for ourselves. We must find a way to make blogging fun again. This can be done by approaching our blog in a way that is hassle free, given our schedule and interests.

Maybe time and life duties won’t allow you to write that epic blog post today but what’s stopping you from posting a photo and a simple caption? Or perhaps, a roundup style blog post containing links to other bloggers that may be of interest to your readers? Or, maybe list style posts describing all of the things/people/places keeping you from blogging like a rockstar?

Blogging is never out of season, so we must do what we can to make sure that our corner of the web is always trending.

What are YOUR blogging struggles that YOU would like to overcome?

Nicole Ayers is an A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host who operates The Madlab Post and chats on Twitter. Her short narrative drama film “ABYSS: THE GREATEST PROPOSAL EVER,” is available on DVD (Limited Sneak PreviewEdition) as she works further relief efforts for disaster survivors including U.S. Military Veterans. 

What Does Your blog mean to You? #blogging

A to Z Challenge is about promoting the blogging community-- we're all bloggers here-- a friendly, supportive bunch, who would like to help each other grow.

That's the purpose of this A to Z blog-- to give voice to other bloggers, to promote their work, to give advice and support, to feature guest bloggers, and foster a sense of community.

This clarity of vision is very important when blogging-- bloggers need to clearly understand what the goals of their blogs are. Their mission statements, if you like.

It could be random, it could have a niche, but every blog needs to mean something to its owner, in order to thrive. Both my blogs, six-years old each, are my playground-- Amlokiblogs is all about writing and reading, whereas Daily (w)rite has become about questions and answers-- I often have weird or useful questions, and I look to my audience to educate me, give me answers.

So what does your blog mean to you? What is is about? Fire away in the comments!

5 Super Results of Visiting A-to-Z Challenge Blogs in the Summer #atozchallenge #roadtrip

Whether slow and steady, or fast and furious, we road trippers are racking up lots of blog-visiting miles on the A-to-Z Challenge signup list. It is a wonder how many of us have noticed some unexpected payoffs along the way.

Of all the blogs you've visited so far since May, it’s easy to find yourself in the following scenario:

1. Reading and commenting on more blogs than you normally would during the A-to-Z Challenge off-season.
2. Learning about topics of interest you didn't even know you had.
3. Meeting or exceeding the amount of blogs you visited back in April, during the actual challenge.
4. Being motivated to update your own blog with new material, more often, to keep it fresh for potential visitors.
5. Interacting with more bloggers on social media.

Which of the scenarios described here apply to YOU? What are some additional results or perks that you've noticed while visiting blogs during the A-to-Z Challenge Road Trip?

A-to-Z Challenge Co-Host Nicole Ayers writes about making movies at The Madlab Post. She is currently supporting U.S. Military Veterans with her short narrative drama film ABYSS: THE GREATEST PROPOSAL EVER, Available on DVD (Limited Sneak Preview Edition).