Happy New Year! I hope you all had wonderful holidays and that your new year is already swinging in with all sorts of good things.
I know at least one person who finished the year with a super bang: Amy Sonnichsen! She was offered rep by the fabulous . . . well go read her blog and find out!
Wait!!! Don’t click over yet!
Because you don’t want to miss this. Some of you may recall that the
fabulous Amy did a little video for me when I signed with Agent
Fabulous. I’m ashamed it has taken me so long, but I couldn’t let this
go without returning the favor with a Hacky Sack Club video of my own.
Hope you enjoyed, and Congratulations, Amy! So excited for you. 🙂
Today I have winners for my giveaway of Leigh Moore’s The Truth about Faking.
And drumroll please . . . . .
Hurray and congratulations! Just let me know what format you would like (see that “Contact Me” page up top?) and I’ll have it off to you.
Now, next item on the agenda. So I have this 8-year-old who has recently turned into a voracious reader, and I mean VORACIOUS! I’m talking zombie-piranha here. He has ripped through pretty much every book in my personal library, and a good number from the library as well.
He’s gone through The Lightning Thief series (and its spin-offs), The Magic Tree House series, The Secrets of Droon series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Prydain series, the Molly Moon series, gosh just more than I can name.
So I need suggestions. What books would you recommend for an 8-year-old boy?
Back in May (when I was busy posting my hacky sack videos (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) as penance for my writing failures), my Hacky Sack Club partner, the amazing Amy Sonnichsen, wrote to me suggesting that we start hosting Hacky Sack Club challenges.
She told me she was thinking that Chinese opera could be fun. So I might have gone pale, and maybe trembled in my knees a little. (I love you Amy!)
Fortunately we came to a nice little compromise and settled on an Ethnic Music Challenge.*
Once that was decided, and she kindly agreed to wait till I returned from my blogging hiatus, the problem became this: How in the world do you compete with Chinese Opera?
After sitting in thoughtful silence on the matter with my husband, we humbly concluded that you don’t.
But then the word “Bollywood” came up. We giggled.**
Then the idea of SOLO Bollywood came up. We giggled a little harder.
And then we started scouring the internet for the perfect song. 🙂
Just a couple of notes: 1) Yes, that is me singing. 2) No, I have not yet signed that million dollar recording contract (too many to choose from, heehee). 3) No, I haven’t accepted any movie offers recently, either (my acting is just that good).
So without further ado and for your viewing pleasure:
Speechless, aren’t you?
And you absolutely cannot miss Amy’s video. She is just . . . wow! SO talented!! This just in!!: Catherine Denton doing Broadway featuring her twin sister. And if you decide to join the fun, let either of us know and we’ll link to you! (Hacky Sacks are still available for new members! I know you want one.)
*Because ethnic music is awesome! (Definitely NOT intended as a put-down. Just to be clear.)
**At the idea of ME doing Bollywood. Not at Bollywood itself. Because Bollywood rocks!
Today you are all in for a surprise. My first ever vlog.
Here’s the deal. Amy Sonnichsen (of The Green Bathtub) and I had this crazy idea of forming a Hackey Sack Club. She posted the sensational YouTube video of old Chinese people singing Lady Gaga and somehow in our back and forth conversation that led to Hacky Sacks. And because we’re so cool, we had to form a club, because that’s what cool people do. So anyway, for your viewing pleasure:
After seeing my mad skillz, I know you’re all dying to join the club, so go. Make your video, or even just post a picture, then find the badge below or on my sidebar and add it to your blog. Let us know and as long as supplies last, we’ll send you a hacky sack.
UPDATE! For updated rules to enter, check out this post.
Because I say “Boo! Boo to the loneliness that is writing!”
Yes, this is a lot of what I have been doing today (housekeeping), as I’ve neglected it for the better part of a week. I swear laundry increases exponentially when you ignore it for a day or five.
Not to break my stride, I’ll keep up with the housekeeping here.
First, I wanted to let you know that while I don’t normally blog on Saturday, I have joined in on Elle Strauss‘s First Page Blogfest. I couldn’t resist. The darn thing keeps changing, so I thought I’d appreciate hearing others’ reactions. (Especially from those of you who have read a previous version!). So I’d love it if you would weigh in . . . any comments to help me make it better would be greatly appreciated!
Second, I won a couple of awards a while ago, and I’ve been meaning to publicly thank them for a while now.
Heather at Buried in Books gave me the Versatile Blogger Award.
And Amy at The Green Bathtub gave me The Creative Blogger Award
While I don’t post pictures of awards I’ve received, I’m always so flattered when people think of me and my little blog when bestowing them. It brightens my day to know that I was being thought of in such a nice way. So THANK YOU!
I know the rules require tidbits about myself and bestowing it to others. Since I don’t have the particulars, I’ll just pretend that 5 is a good number on both counts. However, this is getting long, and I have a rule against long blogs, so you’ll have to wait until Monday. Cruel, I know. 😉
Have a great weekend!
Okay, okay, I’m supposed to be packing up the last of our things to be moving to our new place, and my internet will be cut off any second, . . .
BUT I peeked in my e-mail and got a little nudge from Amy over at The Green Bathtub (Thank you!) that I won the pitch contest on Renae’s blog The Siren’s Song. (!!!!!) So excited!
I couldn’t help sharing the good news with all of you (my extended support system, no?). While it’s not as exciting as, say, landing an agent or getting a book deal, it’s always encouraging to get positive feedback. I say celebrate the small steps too, so . . .
. . . I’m home, in a half-empty apartment doing my happy dance. 😀