Three Blogfests or A Recipe for Frankenstein

It's blogfest season! Don't tell me there's no such things. There is no other way to explain the pile (read three) of new and awesome blogfests coming our way. One of which is mine. Yeah.

Anyway, here they are:

The I AM LEGEND blogfest

My blog isn't the only one who's nearing its one-year anniversary. I stopped counting how often I linked to Urban Psychopomp, but there you go. Once more! In her own words:

"The idea behind the blogfest is to give people an opportunity to share what is EPIC LEGEND WIN about their WIP or their favorite book. Is it a larger than life mythical creature? Is it a hero possessing such tenacity that he puts all other heroes to shame? Is it a war of such devastation that the human psyche will never be the same?"

This is going to be fun. There is Epic in all of our stories, and it's time to get it out. Not to mention, there are prizes! Hoorah!

Go to this post and sign up. You know you want to.

The great MonsterFest 2011!

Halloween is getting closer, and Sommer Leigh is preparing something big for it. It's no secret that we need to prepare ourselves from the onslaught of monsters that will rise on October 31st, and for that she is calling forward the League of Monstrologists.

Who are these guys? Well, us! Or, from the page: "Anyone who studies, writes about, reads about, hunts, loves, and/or is scared of monsters. There’s no formal education or training, no credentials needed. If monsters stalk your dreams, your waking curiosities, your writing, then you’ve been a Monstrologist all this time!"

If you're a monstrologist, it's your solemn duty to help us build a comprehensive informal guide of all things monstrous and terrifying! You can (and should) learn more on the MonsterFest's page. 

Superheroes of Science Blogfest

 
Yep, I know, this one is mine! I just wanted to remind you that sign-ups are ongoing for the Superheroes of Science Blogfest, celebrating the great scientists of our world, whether imaginary or not.

I want to stress this last point, because I'm well aware that today, scientists don't occupy a place of prestige and influence, and most people only know a few names. There are, however, a great number of scientists in movies, novels, TV shows and comics. It doesn't matter if your scientist is real or fictionnary, a hardcore physicist or an engineer. If you love him (or her) or if was an influence on your life or stories, this is the time to honour him.

Don't forget I'm giving away a copy of Forgotten Gods, a historical novel from fellow scientist and writer SB Stewart-Laing, at Writing the Other. It's coming out on the e-shelves tomorrow! So excited.


So this is it. Monsters, Mad Science and Stuff of Legends. I told you this was a recipe for Frankenstein!

Enjoy the weekend!

Fire! Fire! And I Give In to the Campaign

Who knew I had a pyromaniac among my followers? Not that it should be surprising, considering the company I keep. It remains, last week the lovely Jennifer Burke set my blog on fire.

FWOOSH! (I like saying fwoosh)

Thanks Jen! What's not to love in an award that comes with multiple silly questions!

1. Are you a rutabaga?

  No, I'm soft and pink. But I can tell you the code for that veggie in on my till is 4747, and you pay by weight. Part of me wish I didn't know such things, but they make me an efficient cashier. Oh well.

2. Who is your current crush?

You mean, apart from my boyfriend? Luigi (yes yes, from Mario Bros). But Luigi has been my crush since I was 4-year-old. Some things never change.

3. Upload a heartwarming picture that makes you smile.

 That's my boyfriend making silly faces next to a snowman we built this winter. There was a snowshoe race on the snowshoe track the next day. Marco (the snowman) was there to cheer on them.

4. When was the last time you ate a vine-ripened tomato.

About ten days ago. They came from the above boyfriend's grandparents' garden. I had 4 such tomatos, all of which were super yummy.

5. Name one habit that causes others to plot your demise.

Acting as though I haven't heard sarcasm when I did. When people are sarcastic with me, I like to keep going as though I never noticed. Then they point out they were sarcastic and I answer "I know." Most people don't know how to react to this. It's rather fun.

6. What's the weirdest, most disgusting job you've ever had to do? 

In Quebec empty bottles of beers are brought back to the grocery. We bring them to the backstore, sort them and place them on delivery pallets for pick-up. Apparenlty people don't think they should rinse their bottles. It always stinks, and even with gloves I get beer juice on my hands and arms, and cut myself every two weeks or so.

Oh, and that lime in Coronas ? Not so nice after a month or two. Not at all.

7. Where da muffin top at?

It met this really nice croissant girl and they hooked up together, and they had chocolate croissant babies. Yum.

8. What author introduced you to your genre?

Tolkien. Is anyone surprised by this? It was Tolkien before Rowling, by a very thin margin. I started reading LotR at the same time as our teacher read HP in my 6th grade class. I finished long before her.

9. Describe yourself with a few latin words.

... I wish French would be enough for this. :P

"Et concitaverunt mulieres LASCIVUS" Yeah!


Now I'd love to pass this award to fellow writers, whose blog I enjoy every week:
Caitlin at Logically   (yeah, I know SB stole my fire, but you get it twice) 
Hillary J. at Impudent Hatchlings
Lynda at W.I.P. it  , whom I've just discovered but already love. 
Silent Pages at Pro(B)logue  - also a new find!


Last but not least! If you've been around the interwebs, you'll have noticed that Rachel Harrie started her third round of Writers' Platform Building Campaign. I have resisted joining in for, oh... four days? But my sanity's best pleas have failed, and despite the crazy semester I'll have, I just have to be a part of this.


What can I say? I love blogging. I love the community. And I'm already crazy, ah!


So there. It is official. I am a Campaigner!

You should give in, too. It promises to be so much fun.

School is Out? Maybe for you!

Today is going to be a short and sweet post. In fact, you should expect Thursdays to be quick presentations of news, funny videos or other announcements on a regular basis now. The reason is simple: you can get your fill of me at Wicked & Tricksy! And yes, I'm aware this makes you all sound addicted. A girl can dream!

So what is on the menu today? The School's Out 4Ever Blogfest!

This awesome no-seriousness-allowed blogfest was launched by my Wicked comrade Sommer Leigh, who always seems to have so many cool ideas bubbling in her head!

The idea is simple: on May 30th, you tell us a story about your time in high school. It can be anything. Go wild! Have fun! If you're out of ideas, click on the button for a link to Sommer's post, with prompts. Well, you should click anyway, because she has a Mr. Linky up for you to sign up. You know you want to.

Be sure to drop here on the 30th, too, for a wild story about tug-of-war, winter carnival and public humiliation!

Also, every time I read this blogfest's name, I can't help but think "I wish." School is out for the summer in my case, but certainly not forever!

SOS Pictures - Relaying the Signal

Good news, friends! My brain is working. You'll have a real post tomorrow!

For now, however, I have a Wicked Partner in need of help. Sommer from Tell Great Stories is preparing a little video for an incoming book release. She can't give the details on the internet. It is a very secret project. But she needs pictures. Tons of them, all of a specific word.

You can help! You should help!

It will involve 10-20 minutes of being creative and e-mailing her a picture. Not a lot! She needs to receive these pictures before Tuesday May 10th.

Want more details? You can either comment on her SOS post or e-mail her at tellgreatstories@yahoo.com

I swear on my thousands of neurons (this is serious) that this is very very worthwhile.

P.S.: If you have an inkling what this might be, please don't say. Secrecy is so hard to keep in the blogosphere!

W - Wicked! Tricksy!

W at last!

Guys, gals, you can't know how long I've been waiting for W to come about -- and not just because I'm done with school! I have big news. Fun news. An important announcement!

What's Wicked & Tricksy? It's a blog! It's a group blog, even.

Wicked & Tricksy is an initiative by four aspiring writers of speculative fiction to provide a place for the community to gather and share. There'll be plenty of craft talk, asking of hard questions and offering of insight, and we hope that you will be as much a part of it than us.

Four aspiring writers? Yep and we all write a different type of speculative fiction. I'm high fantasy.

My three fellow masters in crime are none other than... *drumrolls*

1. Margo, from Urban Psychopomp! Margo is our local epic and urban fantasy expert. She'll rock your socks. Or perhaps roar them off.
2. SB, from Writing the Other. SB is in charge of historical fantasy. Her pool of knowledge about celtic myths is endless, I tell you, and never boring. 
3. Sommer, from Tell Great Stories. Sommer is our superwoman -- or so her current WIP would suggest. She's also funny, sweet and knows more about everything from science fiction to steampunk, without forgetting atompunk or raygun gothic than anyone else I know.

And! And... There will also be most-awesome guest bloggers on Fridays! Fun, thoughtful people with great things to say. I said it, this is a platform for everyone and we would love to see you step on the Friday Stage and join the fun.

I am excited. This line exists to allow me to take a deep breath before I choke you to death with my excitement.

Because Wicked & Tricksy is meant to be a gathering place for the community, that is our first week's theme. There are also rumours (very, very strong rumours) of a cool giveaway during our first two weeks.

Don't miss the fun. Visit us at wickedtricksy.com on May 9th. Pretty, pretty please?

And if you're afraid you'll miss the launch, you can follow us on Twitter, where fun will be had in the meantime.

Happy W Day, all!

EDIT: I forgot something important! If any of you wanted to help spread the word, we have a whole press kit built to help. Feel free to e-mail me ( claudieawriter AT gmail.com ) and I'll pass it along. :)

C - Community

Community is powerful. It offers support and encouragement when you need it, along with resources to achieve your goals. Oh, and protection. We've all seen the YA community rise to defend its own. A good community can change your world.

The online writing community... is fabulous! The internet can be big and scary at times. It's easy to post anonymous flaming comments. When I started this blog, I had no idea how it'd go.

Let's be honest. I've loved every minute of my experience so far. Whether it's here, in forums, or commenting in other blogs, writers everywhere on the internet are warm, welcoming and happy to share. In an industry where the competition is high, it's heart-warming to see how much support there is for the next writer.

Just look at the many blog awards being passed to others. Or at the wave of celebration when someone gets an agent or a book deal. Ok, maybe we live vicariously through the others! Or we're just happy to see one of us who made it through the trenches. You choose.

The NaNoWriMo community. I do not think I would have succeeded in NaNoWriMo (the challenge is to write 50k in 30 days, every November) three years in a row without my region's support. I talked about it yesterday, from my master-of-cheerleading perspective.

My NaNo group is a wonderful, super-tight community. If you stumble there's a dozen friends right there to catch you. If you fall behind, we'll grab the pompoms and stand behind you, cheering, until you're caught up. We'll pay for all the sugar, coffee and tea you need, as long as you get there.

It's as Sam says: "I can't carry it for you, Mister Frodo, but I can carry you."

Never underestimate the power of community. Whether it's a solid network of close friends or the internet peers who back you up, the community can push you beyond your limits -- and you'll love it!

Happy Monday. :)