www.marilynbrant.com

Monday, December 1, 2008

ABC's of December: Auctions, Blog-Love and Chilliness

The lovely and kind Robin Bielman honored me last week by including my blog in a list of seven of her favorites. Having met her only once in person (and very briefly at that) did not stop me from wanting to span the 2,000 miles between us to give her a huge hug of thanks. You're a sweetie, Robin!

On the other hand, the downside of this honor is that I'm allowed to pass along the blogging love to ONLY seven others...not an easy task, as I've frittered away numerous days in compulsive clicking from blog post to blog post, learning and laughing as I go. Limitations such as these find me fleeing to the tightly packed containers of leftover Thanksgiving treats for greater mental acuity and energy. I do believe heated apple pie (with ice cream) can put almost any crisis into perspective.

So, with that inspiration, I've chosen people whose posts are--like that pie--longtime favorites of mine. Many of these are the first blogs I read as I entered the Blogosphere, written by people who kept me posting because they cared enough to cheer me on in those early days (as well as now :). Thanks to you all! And thanks, again, to Robin for choosing Caryn and Pam on her list, because otherwise I'd have had to disregard the rules, add the three of you, and end up with 10 nominees on mine!! Not that I'd consider that a bad thing, either...

Eliza of not quite lost, not quite found
L.A. Mitchell of Writing in a Vortex
Maureen McGowan
Pamala of Time Flies
Brett of Cultural Observations
Nadine Dajani
Sandra of Lone Star Meanderings

In other news, author Jo Leigh lost her husband to cancer this past summer. In an effort to help her deal with the resulting medical bills, an array of writers have come together to host an auction for her. Among these, several of my fellow '007 Golden Heart Finalists are offering a 55-pg. partial/synopsis critique, to be read by a bunch of us simultaneously. Actually, we're auctioning off two multiple critiques--one for a historical manuscript and one for a contemporary. Five of us, myself included, are critiquing the historical for the winner of our bid, while another six finalists are critiquing the contemporary. But we're not the only ones with something good for sale! If you're interested, or know someone else who might be, check out the link below:



And, finally, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. We got several inches of snow last night, so my little suburban world is blanketed in pretty whiteness. But, it's also freezing, so I'll be staying in and enjoying it from the warmth of my living room.

Happy December, my friends!

8 comments:

L.A. Mitchell said...

Thanks for the nod, Marilyn. I adore your blog, too. Such fun interviews and I get to keep in touch between conferences :)

Anonymous said...

Funny -- I was planning to give you and Pam the award, too, but then I saw that Robin had already beaten me to it! Actually, I think she grabbed a few other favorite reads as well. Really narrowed down the pool quite nicely.

Am off to check the auction. Sounds intriguing, and like it's for a great cause.

Pamala Knight said...

Oh Thank you thank you! I can't think of a blog I like more than yours so it's nice to know that my love is reciprocated. You are truly the best. Now, is this like tag and now I get to name seven blogs that I heart too? Sorry to be dense and I can't even blame tryptophan or turkey overload for that, lol.

Off to go check out the auction.

*Big kiss*

Marilyn Brant said...

L.A.~You know, it's odd not to have actually seen you in person since July '07...I feel like we "talk" all the time :).

Caryn~Thanks! And I hope you found something interesting at the auction. There were lots of tempting items when I looked...

Pamala~You're so welcome!! I LOVE reading your posts! And, yes, it's exactly like tag. You get to put up the graphic on your blog (for however long you like--I'm keeping mine up for eternity :-) and tag 7 other blogs you love. Can't wait to visit the ones you choose!

Anonymous said...

Hugs to you, Marilyn! And sheesh, did you have to slip in apple pie a la mode into your post? Now I'll be thinking about that all day. :)

This has been a great tag. I'm enjoying checking out new blogs! And I'll check out the auction as well.

Brett said...

Thanks for including my blog in your list, Marilyn. That's really nice of you! I do enjoy writing the blog as an outlet for my random, rambling thoughts. And I enjoy reading other people's blogs, because it's so easy to find so many things that ring true in our shared humanity!

I spend a good deal of time at my job writing technical training manuals, documents, and handouts. It's an aspect of my teaching job that I actually love...I have good grammar skills, and I like the challenge of translating dry, boring computer mumbo-jumbo into clear, enjoyable descriptions for students. Like I said, it has its challenges. :)

Maureen McGowan said...

Oh, I'm so honored, Marilyn!

Fun that you have snow. We're still waiting on the white stuff here... Just dull and gray and rainy...

Marilyn Brant said...

Robin~You know I can't resist talking about food! Actually, I just started buying Christmas presents--four people are getting cookbooks from me (all different cuisines!) this year. I'm hoping they'll cook me stuff :).

Brett~You're welcome! And I marvel at anyone who can make technical stuff--particularly computer thingies--fun and easy to understand. Wish you could've been here to explain Windows Vista to me...

Maureen~I'd be happy to ship some snow up to you. Really! I'll share :).