I’m guest blogging again this week over at Searching for Superwomen, the brainchild of Emmie Mears whose book Shrike will be hitting bookshelves in the near future. Click on the excerpt to read more.
Feel free to leave me a comment either here or on SFSW. And if you haven’t checked out SFSW before, please do! There are all kinds of posts for the geek inside, ranging from Doctor Who to Supernatural to Buffy and everything in between.
I never used to read blogs, unless the Oatmeal counts. Or the occasional read on io9. But it wasn’t until I actually started blogging that I discovered how awesome the blogging community was. Especially here on WordPress (no offense to Blogger users). We’re a fairly tight knit community on the WP. I try to keep up with Blogger blogs, but have found interaction on that platform to be extremely lacking. I still get to them sometimes, when I can.
So, having that in mind, knowing how rarely I get over to Blogger, there is one blog I make the time for, even with the annoying Blogger platform. And that, my friends, is the blog It Just Gets Stranger.
It’s thanks to the BFF I found this blog at all. She put me onto the post that put this Stranger blog on the map: the infamous Snuggie Texts (they even made the news). And since then there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think: “Hmmm, wonder what that weirdo’s up to today?”
I’m kidding! Okay, only sort of. (See Meow That Tune).
But more often than not, these posts easily work as inspiration for comics. I’ve given the Scribbles treatment to a few of my favorite posts, but fear not ye time-wasters, there’s plenty of hullabaloo to be had on Stranger for hours and hours to come.
Let’s start at the very beginning. For me at least. Warning! Reading this post may cause you a fit of the giggles you won’t soon see the end of.
Ever received an accidental text? Well, Eli did, and instead of ignoring it or texting back she had the wrong number, he decided to run with it. See what shenanigans follow when Eli and the Unknown texter fight about what’s better to get their “mutual” friend Beth for her wedding.
Snuggie Texts is a part of a series on the blog called “Messing With People.” If you don’t have time to scour the whole blog, go to the “Messing With People” section for the giggles. Be sure to follow up with with Snuggie Texts Part II.
And the comic I drew is my favorite part of the whole interaction, especially that Unknown didn’t think something was up at that point and continued on texting. 🙂
‘m a guest blogger today over at my friend and published author P.C. Zick‘s blog Writing Whims. Please come and check out my article entitled Editing Smackdown, where I take you through the journey that is polishing a novel. Click on the excerpt to read more.
And while you’re there, feel free to check out P.C.’s other many amazing posts and learn from her experience.
Anything you would add to the editing advice from your own experience? Please feel free to leave comments either here or on Writing Whims.
I’m still playing catch up with life and work, so today I opted for a Daily Post prompt:
Do you belong in this day and age? Do you feel comfortable being a citizen of the 21st-century? If you do, explain why — and if you don’t, when in human history would you rather be?
I think about this fairly frequently. After reading Kati and Heidi’s fabulous Roaring ’20s post, I am a great deal tempted to have lived back then. It was an era of limitless possibilities. You had cars really coming into play, radio, movies—and then of course the dreaded Black Thursday which led into the Great Depression. I wouldn’t have wanted to live through that (not that our recent economy trends have been any bit of encouraging…)
So here’s my answer: I’m glad I was born exactly when I was born, but I still want my own TARDIS or DeLorean to visit other eras.
Cuz let’s face it. If I’d have been a 20-something in the ’20s, at best Tom Baker would have been my favorite Doctor. And any guarantee that I’d live to see Back to the Future?
And speaking of Back to the Future, how could I have possibly gone on living knowing I would have completely missed a wonderful ’80s childhood? Oh sure, you can watch all the ’80s stuff on Netflix or somewhere. You can read about it. But what about living it? Where would I be today without my Rainbow Brite doll, complete with her horse Starlight? We’re talking about Ghostbusters, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Goonies, moon boots, bright neon colors, The Cars—I could go on forever.
And let’s not forget teens in the ’90s. Grunge rock, flannel T-shirts, Empire Records (see Kate’s post on why that’s its own level of awesomeness), and the beginning of boy bands. Plus cellphones and the internet really start to come on the scene. Much like Kip, I love me some technology.
So, yeah, I’m feeling pretty darn comfortable right where I am. We’re in an age where we can be pretty much whatever we want to be, as long as we’re willing to put in the time and effort. Plus I like that there aren’t just 3 career options for me as a woman anymore (nurse, teacher, librarian).
So kudos to you 21st century!
Now where did I put that TARDIS?
What do you think? Are you loving the time you’re in? If not, when do you wish you were born?
Welcome to the final installment of April’s Featured Blog, something I’ve posted here on Lit and Scribbles most of the month to introduce all of you to perhaps some new future friends and get to know a little more about your blogging community.
You’re in for a treat on this last day of April. Today we get to hear from Kati and Heidi, co-writers of the blog Mystic Cooking and a WIP of the same name. Often they co-write blog posts, which are among my favorites, and fortunately today will be no exception. Tell us about yourselves girls!
KATI & HEIDI: We are a writing team of sisters currently working on a YA fantasy, “Mystic Cooking,” which is set in a world where steampunk scientists feud with elven gangsters, and a chef who specializes in cuisine made from mystical creatures is just trying to pay back her loan shark, beat her old school rival, and keep herself out of trouble. If you want to know more about it, check out our Next Big Thing post here.
HEIDI: Technically we started it in May, just before the Backspace writing conference.
KATI: It was a total panic last-minute thing, though. I think we might have posted maybe three times until a certain friend of ours <cough Jae cough> gave us a kick in the pants in September.
HEIDI: Kati really took it to heart—she decided we’d do 31 posts in October. Didn’t tell me about it, of course…I had to read we were doing this on the blog at the same time as everyone else.
KATI: Just keeping you on your toes. 😛
HEIDI: Hate to admit it, but it ended up being a good idea—
KATI: Is this being recorded somewhere?
HEIDI: Anyways…after that we’ve mostly kept up a fairly regularish schedule. Oh, and our blog’s about writing, reading (mostly YA), and then the occasional random post about whatever.
KATI: Definitely the Next Big Thing post. We had a blast coming up with different actors to play our characters.
HEIDI: A close second would be our “Co-Writing a Book” series, just because it was fun to think back over our process and share it with everyone.
J: What type of stories do you write?KATI: Mostly YA fantasy, but I’m starting to break into MG fantasy, and I would like to write a YA historical fiction someday. 🙂
HEIDI: I write the same things as Kati, plus I write the occasional short story. Most of those are horror.
KATI: I really like Hannah, our main character’s best friend. She seems like this super flaky person, but really she’s a lot smarter and a lot more sharp than she lets on. It’s fun to write a character who acts one way, and then underneath it there are just these little glimpses into a completely different person. Plus she tries to be a good friend, even if she ends up causing more trouble.
HEIDI: My favorite is definitely Vahn, the man our main character thinks is her one true love. He always gets her name wrong, constantly hits on her best friend, and clearly believes the sun shines out of his, well, you get the idea. He’s a total jerk, but an amusing one, and I’ve really enjoyed writing him.
Lit and Scribbles with Jae 