I'm throwing my hat in the ring...Are you?

Have you seen the A-Z Blogging Challenge banner everywhere?  I have.  It's being hosted by some of my favorite bloggy friends.  (*waves to the gang*) After a little lot of coaxing I joined.  I'm number 583!  Can you believe it?  Last year there were about 100 participants.

Here's the scoop...

The goal of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is to post something every day in April except for Sundays. You will have 26 blog posts--one for each letter of the alphabet. Each day your post will be related to the letter of the day.

Use your imagination if you join the challenge. You can post essays, short pieces of fiction,  a poem, a recipe, a drawing, or anything else that represents the letter of the day. You don't have to be a writer to do this. You can post photos or samples of your own art or craft work. Everyone who blogs can post from A to Z.

So...Are you in??? (You can sign up here.)

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I have a little confession...

I've been saving awards.

Bluestocking presented me with this delicious award.  She's such a sweetie and we've "blog" known each other for at least a year!  With this award I'm supposed to tell you about four guilty pleasures I indulge myself in....So here it goes...no judgment please...

1. I take 4 pieces of hard candy to bed with me every night, so I can eat them while I'm reading.
2. I have a signature scent. I only get one bottle a year, so I"m careful with it,but I LOVE Channel No.5!
3. I love a nice strong cup of coffee!  I love it so much that I am giving it up for Lent.  (Wish me luck
4. Sleep is one of my favorite things.  I can comfortably sleep 8-12 hours a day. 

I'd like to pass this award along to Beth who has a wonderful blog and sometimes posts delicious recipes.  I'd also like to pass it along to my Canadian friend Catherine.  Catherine befriended me when Stripes died and we've been buds ever since.  She has a way with words, photos and paper!  Finally I'd like to pass this award to Jennifer, you might know her as Old Kitty.  She has to be one of the sweetest bloggers around.  She leaves wonderful positive comments all over the blogging community.

My bloggy friend turned critique partner, Melissa Sarno, presented me with the honest scrapper award.  HMMM, I wonder if that was before or after I critiqued a piece for her???  I'm supposed to share ten things about myself.  Since I've already shared four things already, I'm going to share six more...

     5. I was born in England and moved to American when I was eight.

     6. I wear my heart on my sleeve.  

     7.  Boston Bibb lettuce is my favorite type of lettuce.  I adore the texture of the leaves.

     8. Basil is my favorite herb.  I think everything tastes better with basil on it.  (Well, not cake.)

     9. My Grandad reads my blog.  I have to tell you, when he told me I burst out in tears.  He and my

         Nanny are so special to me.

   10. I'm going to see Nanny and Grandad this fall and I'm super excited.  I didn't get to go see them in

         2010. 

I'd like to pass this award along to a few bloggers that have been around for a while and have made a lasting impression on me.

~Shannon O'Donnell who has a way of making me feel special as I'm sure she does to so many others.

~Jackee and I met through my long time friend Susan Fields and last summer Jackee and I teamed up to do a months worth or random questions and prizes.  It was a blast! 

~Kelly Polark is a rock and roll princess at heart.  We met last spring through Mark McVeigh, she's one talented writer.

I was presented with this award by Lindsey  and Reenie.  They are two of my new bloggy friends.  I thought I would present it to some of my new bloggy friends.  :)

I'd like to pass this award along to Claudia Del Balso, who shares a wealth of knowledge on her blog;  Brenda Drake who has some wicked cool critique contests on her blog; Angela Felsted who has a beautiful poetry blog and to Judith Engracia who just started blogging again...you might remember her from last fall when she was around the blogging community...Hopefully you'll welcome her back.  :)

I hope that you'll hop over and meet some of my old friends and some of my new friends...and perhaps even join me in the A-Z Blogging Challenge.

Title Smarties...

(My daughter made this larger than life box of Smarties in an art class this year...Very nice, K!)

The results are in...On Saturday I entered The Slushpile Slut's  Next Top Title Blogfest.  It was a lot of fun and I met some great new people and got some really interesting information about two of my manuscripts' titles.

My middle grade historical fiction novel is about two girls who survive the Blitz in London (WWII) and are evacuated to a village in the countryside.  The titles I considered were: A TEMPORARY HOME, EVERYONE DID THEIR PART, AND NOT A HOLIDAY.  EVERYONE DID THEIR PART was my original title and it got zero votes.  I was totally shocked.  A TEMPORARY HOME came in second and although I really like this title, my teenage daughter said it sounds like a modern foster care story.  So the New title and one I love is; NOT A HOLIDAY.  I really think it sounds English and tells a lot about the story.  Children were told that their evacuation would be like a holiday and that they would have adventures while they were  out of harms way.  For some children it was a better life than what they had in the slums of London and Manchester, but for others that was not true. 

The rhyming picture book is about a little girl (or could be a boy depending on the illustrations) that bakes an over the top cake.  The three titles I put up were: A CAKE I WILL BAKE, CAKE FOR TWO, AND THE CAKE CHALLENGE.  A CAKE I WILL BAKE was the resounding winner and my original title.  CAKE CHALLENGE came in second.  I think I will stick with A CAKE I WILL BAKE, my only concern is that they are also the first words in the book. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK???  Is that okay?

During the Next Top Title Blogfest I had the opportunity to meet about 30 new to me bloggers.  Clara was one of them.  She is a YA (young adult) fantasy writer.  She has a wonderful blog.  One of her recent posts was an interview with one of her characters Timas...Very cool!

These are the rules...but let's face it, I'm a Harley girl and I don't always follow the rules...

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award. (done)
2. Share 7 things about yourself. (done)
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason!  (done)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award. (working on it)

Seven Things About Me:
1. I was born just outside of London, England and moved to the States when I was 8.
2. I'm trying to be a go with the flow Harley chick.  (Not so easy for a spreadsheet kind of girl...)
3. I've had numerous personal hand written rejections.  (Which tells me to keep on writing.)
4. I belong to two critique groups: The WAD and Mark One. (Check out my sidebar to meet some of my buddies.)
5. I love to tube!
6. I truly believe that one can NOT host a party without a cheese tray!
7. I'm a mostatarian. I eat mostly vegetables, but do eat fish, eggs, and seafood.


AND THE AWARDS GO TO....
Vicki Rocho- aspiring writer
Valerie-who writes about politics, modern culture and anything else controversial
Terri  Tiffany- inspirational writer
Sandy Shin-YA writer and book reviewer
Tahereh-YA author (and my daughter's favorite blogger)
Roland Yeoman-writer
Niki-aspiring writer
Lydia Kang-doctor and writer
Kathi Peterson-romance writer
Jen Blom-mg writer
Janet Johnson-ya and mg writer (lover of fairytales)
Jeff King-aspiring writer for adults
Jennifer Daiker-aspiring author
Houston Knight-romance writer
Catherine-writer, photographer, animal lover
Angela Ackerman-chapter book, mg, ya author

I know this is a lot of links...That's why I broke it down into what people write about...This way you can hunt down the bloggers you have something in common with.  :)

HAVE A WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!

P.S. I'm only 813 people away from having a 1,000 followers! Can you believe it? I'm totally stoked and have been thinking of what to do to celebrate when I'm 800 followers away from 1,000. Well, we've come up with a plan...My daughter (now a high school freshman) and I decided to have a Really Random Prize Give-A-Way...one of EPIC proportion! It's going to be sooooo (I could add more o's) much fun for you, me and a committee of judges....

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

The winners of signed hardback copies of Judy's books are...Angela and Vicki.  Congratulations, Ladies!  Please email your addresses to: skmayh at q dot com.  I hope you enjoy the ALL THE NUMBERS as much as I did.  If you didn't win, please order a copy today....

I am so bad at posting awards...It's not that I don't appreciate them because I really do.  It makes me feel wonderful, like my words and photographs matter to you. 

Shannon O'Donnell gave me this lovely award.  Shannon is an inspiration to all of us.  I don't think I've ever seen a blog without one of her comments in the comments section.  She ROCKS!

I'd like to pass this award along to:

Jackee and Jill who have really inspired me set goals and to work harder.  If you haven't met them yet, go check them out...be prepared to be inspired.

Amy is one beautiful person and puts up some lovely blog posts....I've had the privilege of reading some of her work and it is AWESOME!

Carolina just did the funniest, heart wrenching vlog (I think that's what they are called)...You've got to check it out!  Seriously, I mean it!

This adorable award was presented to my by action and suspense author Stephen Tremp.  If you haven't met Stephen he's one smart cookie and you should check him out.

I'd like to pass this award along to several awesome bloggers:

Lenny is an awesome blogger for sure!  He is bright and witty and a sweetie on top of all of that.

Sierra is a lovely young woman that shares bits of her life with us.  She talks about fashion, travel, pop culture and pretty soon she's getting her own pad!

Brian is one of my newest friends.  He helps me a little bit every day since Stripes died.  He's one cool cat!

This award was presented to me by one of my blog idols, Buffy Andrews.  Buffy is an assisting managing editor to a variety of publications on the East Coast.  She has a beautiful "voice" and is an even more beautiful friend.  Buffy is one of the founders of The Inkwell, an awesome (free) writing community, that covers picture books to young adults.  If you haven't been there please go and join.  (I am the moderator on one of the forums and would love to see you guys over there!)

I'd like to pass this award along to a few bloggers that I think have beautiful "voices."

Sharon McPherson is an awesome (adult fiction) writer from Scotland.  Her blog is a riot!  So check it out if you want to be immersed in her dating life and Scottish culture.

Donna Aviles is has written a series of books about her grandfather and his adventures on the Orphan Train.  Her writing is exceptional!

Hema has one of the deepest blogs.  Her discussions are thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking.  I recently had the privilege of reading a bit of her work....(Nice stuff!)

I don't usually do the "this is what I did today" thing , but today my daughter and I did something and it's going to affect all of you.  I'm only 823 people away from having a 1,000 followers!  Can you believe it?  I can't, so I've been thinking of what I could do to celebrate when I'm only 800 followers away from 1,000.  My daughter (now a high school freshman) and I decided to have a Really Random Prize Give-A-Way...one of EPIC proportion!  It's going to be sooooo (I could add more o's) much fun for you, me and a committee of judges....That's all I'm saying for now.  (wink wink)

Have a great weekend!

AND THE WINNERS ARE...

Catherine and Amy were selected by random.org, as the winner's of Gene Gagliano's book MY TEACHER DANCES ON HIS DESK.  They each will get a signed copy.

While I was working through losing Stripes several of my lovely blog friends gave me some awards and I'd like to pass them on:

Wendy, aka Quillfeather, has a lovely blog full of interesting and informative posts.  If you haven't checked her head down under...well, err..to New Zealand and have a look around.  :)

I'd like to pass this along to a few of my new blog friends...Brian and Jacqueline have creative cat blogs.  If you love cats check them out.

So let's see four truths and one untruth about me....
1. I'm 5'5.5" tall.
2. I've been to five countries including the US.
3. I'm a women's rights activist.
4. I've helped build a Habitat For Humanity house.
5. I was honored by the American Red Cross in Missouri a few years ago.

This award comes from one of my new critique group members: Hema.  Hema has an insightful blog full of deep thoughts.  I'd like to pass this award along to...Joany who has been steadily blogging and emailing even in her dentist induced tortured condition and to Talli who posts the most wonderful pictures of England and Wales and makes me a little bit homesick.

This lovely award came from Shannon.  Shannon is all over the blogging world.  I think I have yet to visit a site that she hasn't made a comment on.  I'd like to pass this along to Jill. She's a Christian romance writer and has a lovely blog.  She's the one who motivated me to post my weekly goals.  I'd also like to present this award to Jennifer, aka Old Kitty.  She and her cat Charlie frequent a lot of blogs and leave wonderful insightful comments.



This sweet blog award came from Jade.  Jade is in the middle of trying to make a big decision about her career.  So hop over and see if you can offer up any advice...I'd like to present this award to Dawn.  I met Dawn through Mark McVeigh and hope you'll check her out.  I'd also like to present it to A.L. (Amy).  I had the honor of reading the first 15 pages of one of her manuscripts.  To me it's a huge honor when someone wants my advice on a piece.  (big smile)  If you haven't checked out these blogs...give 'em a shot.  (really big smile)



Again, I'd like to thank all of you for helping me during my struggle with losing Stripes.  Over the past two weeks I discovered a whole new world of bloggers.  I had no idea people blogged about so many topics.  Seriously, I just thought blogging was a writer thing.  I found a whole world of bloggers that appear to be cats...cats that can type and take beautiful photographs.  (wink)  I found bloggers that talk about different diseases.  Blogs that are about our current culture and ones about decorating and crafts.  I put a few of my favorites on my sidebar.

Have you discovered any non-writer blogs that you have to check on, just because they make you smile?  Feel free to share.  I'm close to reaching my new blogs visited (and commmented on) goal for Jackee's May Scramble.  I promise, I will go visit any blogs you list (unless I think they are naughty ones...).

I'M BACK AND I'M...

...still trying to get my land legs under me… Something about a week at sea in the Bahamas made me a little too relaxed. I’m having trouble getting back into the swing of things. I’ve been busy reading blogs, hoping to find my muse, but I’m still searching…

While I’ve been away some wonderful people gave me some awards…I feel honored that these talented people took time out of their day to give me a pat on the back. That’s what blog awards are aren’t they…Awards are our little of way saying we like each other’s words, thoughts, sentiments, sense of humor, or the way they inspire us to be better writers or better people.

Shannon at Book Dreaming is an amazing person. She is so good at encouraging all of us in the blog world. If you haven’t been to visit Shannon yet, hop over! She is celebrating having over 200 followers with an awesome contest.

Karen at I’m Always Write is such a sweetie. I met her when she entered and won a contest I ran. Then I entered her contest and won. Today I read her post and discovered the snow in Maryland is deeper than she is tall. Hop over to her blog and help her hit the 100 mark. Karen has 99 followers as of 7:50 CST today.

Shannon and Karen both said I have to share ten things that make me happy…

1. My daughter

2. My husband

3. Reading

4. Traveling

5. The rest of my family (the ones I don’t live with)

6. Our pets

7. Having an office to write in

8. Wonderful friends

9. An awesome critique group

10. Having the opportunity to stay home and pursue my dreams of being a size seven again and writing a book.

D.L. over at Cruising Altitude is one awesome writer. I had no idea how good until I read an excerpt of his novel SLOW DANCER. I hope you will visit his blog and read his male POV YA post….Good stuff! Now I’m supposed to tell ten honest things about myself….YIKES!

1. I sneak coffee with caffeine in it, daily.

2. I dance when no one is looking.

3. When I was 10, I stole a box of chocolate covered cherries from my Mum (one at a time). Yes, I got caught. I’ve never been that devious.

4. I am English. I’ve been in the States since I was 8, but am not a citizen.

5. Eating cold pizza is one of my favorite breakfast foods.

6. I am a reality TV junky.

7. I love Tom Cruise movies.

8. I want to win a Caldecott…(I know...who doesn’t?)

9. The first thing I’m going to do when I sell a book is to hire a housekeeper.

10. I wish that pizza was calorie free, so I could eat it every day.

Tracy over at Crossing Chalk honored me with the Silver Lining Award. Sadly, I couldn’t copy and paste it. Tracy is one serious dude! He’s a teacher, a husband, a father (and soon to be a dad for a second time), a coach, and a writer. I’m amazed he has time to blog let alone write novels. I hope you’ll hop over and read a bit of his work.

Thank you guys so much! Tomorrow, I’ll be back with some life management tips and I'll be passing these awards on to worthy bloggers.  (Put on sun screen when you are in the Bahamas, even if you never take your cover up off.)