Characters Who Blog

We're less than a month away from the kick-off of the A to Z Challenge, so I thought I'd give you a little inspiration in the form of one of the best literary and film characters of all time. He's certainly one of the most quotes, for his catchphrase is hard to forget . . . 

I hope you enjoyed my take on what Inigo Montoya's A to Z Blog might look like. And I hope it did it's part to get you a little more excited about the upcoming challenge. If you haven't already signed up, there's still time! 

And if you want to get people excited about your theme for this year's A to Z, don't forget to sign up for The Great and Powerful Theme Reveal blogfest happening on March 23rd. Sign up here and join us!

Happy Wednesday everyone, and as always, happy blogging!

S. L. Hennessy can be found blogging at Pensuasion. 

Meet Your Co-Host - J.L. Campbell

My name is Joy and I’ve been blogging since 2008. Since that time, blogging has become an important part of my online presence. The year 2011 was the first time I did the A-Z Challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This year, I'll be a co-host during the Challenge, which is a first for me.

Somehow, I’ve never been able to write all of my posts prior to the start of the Challenge, but that hasn’t prevented me from participating fully each April. If I would take the time to collate my Challenge themes over the years, I’d have several books worth reading.

So a little about me …

I live in Jamaica and have been reading novels and writing stories since childhood. My books are published under the name/s J.L. Campbell and Jayda McTyson. I was lucky enough to get three publishing contracts in a short time span. Since then, I’ve self-published a number of romantic suspense, women’s fiction, new and young adult books. Needless to say, I love writing!

Some extras about me:

J.L. Campbell, A-Z Co-host

I can't stand seeing animals or children suffer

Documentaries that cover strange subjects fascinate me *don't ask*

I never go out without lipstick

Etymology fascinates me

I never go to bed early unless I'm ill, which is rarely

I’ve always enjoyed the Challenge and look forward to participating again this year. Have you settled on a theme yet? Written up all your posts?

I’m still looking for helpers, so if you’re reliable and can help with visiting blogs, do leave me a comment and I'll come stalk contact you.

For visits and such, my website is at www.joylcampbell.com and my Amazon author page is here.

Getting to Know Your Co-Hosts – Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh

This marks my sixth year participating in the Challenge and my fifth year as a co-host. The very first year, it changed my blog forever, and I have been a big supporter ever since.

My followers nicknamed me the Ninja Captain, and those who follow my blog are part of the Ninja Army.

By day, I work in web design, graphics, and technical editing.

By night, I am a musician and play guitar in a Christian band. I’m also an author, and my genre is science fiction-space opera. My first three books, CassaStar, CassaFire, and CassaStorm, were all Amazon best-sellers in the US and UK.

My next (and possibly last) book, Dragon of the Stars, comes out April 7. (Yes, right in the middle of the Challenge! My hope is to just survive until the end of April.) I have a special site set up for the book – What Are the Kargrandes? – with new clues every Monday until its release.

I’m also the founder of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group. In addition to the monthly blog posts every first Wednesday, we have a website, a Facebook group. and the IWSG Critique Circle.




Other random facts:
I’m a big movie buff and feature reviews on my blog. My goal is to reach the end of NetFlix one day.
I can be bribed with Hot Tamales.
I’m a fan of all things science fiction, fantasy, and geek-related.
I’m a die-hard fan of RiffTrax and Mystery Science Theater 3000. (And even got to interview my idols HERE!)
I visit a lot of blogs in a day because yes, I do have clones.
Music has always been a part of my life and I’ve played many instruments. Wanted to be a rock star…

I’m a man of mystery, although Mini-Alex likes the camera.
I’m married, no kids, and a born-again Christian.
And ironically, I never even wanted to be an author…



From the questions asked: 

Barbara from Life and Faith in Caneyhead: What would you do if your pc died in the middle of the AtoZChallenge?

Implode? Actually, we have several computers and iPads, so I’d be all right.

Beth from A Bench With a View: How do you manage your time during the A/Z challenge? Other than having all written before the challenge begins, any other tips you can share?

Pace yourself. Don’t come out of the gates too fast or you’ll burn out. I also recommend clones…

LuAnn fromBack Porchervations: After you successfully complete the 2015 A to Z, and they stick television cameras in your face and ask "So, what are you going to do now", what will you answer?

Sleep for a week!

Everyone have a great time with the Challenge!

Find me here –
Blog, Twitter, Google+,Goodreads, What Are the Kargrandes? and at the Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Stormy's Sidekicks. They're real and they're spectacular!

It's time to introduce the most wonderful team a Co-Host could ask for!

I would let Stormy do it, but he's under a few more inches of new snow. I may or may not dig him out.


Sarah Foster from The Faux Fountain Pen! Sarah is a writer, reader, blogger and cupcake maker extraordinaire. She's very funny and doesn't give herself enough credit about her writing or her charm. She's been a great support to many on the Insecure Writer's Support Group and to me on my blog. Thanks for hookin' me up with your awesomeness, Sarah!



Jennifer L. Hawes from The Writing Game! Jennifer is the author of Free Runner, mother of two teenagers, photographer and former teacher. When she's not driving her sons around like a taxi driver, she's hard at work on her new novel.

Diana Gordon from Part Time Monster! This is a collaborative blog that's described as '...a community of monsters.' They talk about book, games, TV shows, movies, music, gaming and much, much more. Diana's super smart and already been a big help! I appreciate her willingness to jump in with both feet!

Let's give our friends a big mushy welcome hug! Thanks for joining my team!


(mmphhffpm)

What was that Stormy?

(mpfhgmmph)

Okay, I'll get the shovel.


Have you joined the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge yet?




Heather M. Gardner

Blog: The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Twitter: @hmgardner

Facebook: Facebook/HeatherWritesRomance

Goodreads: HMGardner

Co-Host: Blogging from A to Z April Challenge

Member: Insecure Writer's Support Group

Member: Blog Blitz 2.0

Super Massive Black Holes and Other Cool Stuff

Yes, black holes are in the news again. Bigger and badder and better than ever. It is generally accepted that at the core of every galaxy lies a supermassive black hole (SMBH). These behemoths are many times the size of ordinary black holes. 

And unlike your garden-variety stellar-mass black hole, supermassive black holes didn’t form from a collapsing star; rather, they formed.... well, we actually don’t know how they formed. But we do know just how big they are. An ordinary black hole can have about five to several tens of times the mass of the Sun (solar masses), where our own galaxy’s SMBH has about four million solar masses. 

We know they're out there, but we don't know how they got there. A new SMBH has now been discovered with about twelve billion solar masses. By itself, that’s not unprecedented; others have been discovered with roughly the same mass. 

What’s astounding about the new discovery is the extreme distance of the SMBH—about 12.8 billion light-years from Earth—and hence, how quickly after the Big Bang it formed. To form within the first 875 million years of the Universe’s history, or a mere six percent of its age, has scientists scratching their heads as to how this could be. The more we discover, the more questions we end up with. Reference 

Did You Know: Scientists believe there are rogue black holes wandering around out there travelling, perhaps hundreds in our Milky Way Galaxy. Let’s hope one doesn’t come our way. That would be a bad day for our solar system. 

But Wait, That’s Not All: Astronomers have spotted what appear to be two super massive black holes at the heart of a remote galaxy, circling each other like dance partners. The incredibly rare sighting was made with the help of NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Let’s hope there are no rogue binary super massive blacks holes wandering around out there. 

Finally: I’m working on cover art for my latest book Salem’s Daughters and would greatly appreciate it if you could stop by my blog and give me your opinion on the three concepts I have. Thanks and hope you enjoyed today’s post. 

You can visit Stephen Tremp at his Website Breakthrough Blogs. Stop by Friday through Sunday for the Weekend Follies, a great way to get a few laughs as you wind down the work week.