Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Odds and Ends

I finally did it. I signed up for Google Reader. Used to be I would click through the blogs in my blog roll one by one to see if the authors had posted anything new, but as time went on and the list got bigger, and I got busier, and then I fell behind in updating my list, and then I lost track of a few blogs I enjoyed, and then .... well the whole thing was becoming too much.

So In an effort to streamline I joined Google Reader and I smut say a few days in I'm loving it. So if you don't see my name in you stat tracker anymore do not think I've abandoned you, I'm jsut not using the links on my site any longer. Soon I'm going to take them all down and do a bit of reorganizing. As I repost the link to my favorite blogs I plan to highlight them in a series of posts and describe why I come back to read them day in and day out.

In other blog news, be sure to check out Ello's blog Random Acts of Unkindness tomorrow when she has a special event planned. Here are the details straight from Ello's blog.

On Wednesday, May 28th, 2008, Dr. Gigi Durham, the author of a new groundbreaking book entitled The Lolita Effect, The Media Sexualization of Young Girls and What we can Do About It, will be here for a Q&A session to talk about her new book. I hope you will spread the word and bring many others to interact with Dr. Durham on a very important issue that affects us all, but most particularly parents of daughters.

And if you are new to blogging or simply want to know what it takes to have a successful blog be sure and check out Josephine Damian's recent series about the art of blogging. She's on a bit of hiatus right now but read this series and then go through her archives. Josephine is the queen of straight-shooters.

But wait there's more. Fellow blogger JerseyGirl89 the author of the popular Dirty Little Secret blog is in the midst of a run of bad luck. She has also has another blog which she used to bolster her income a might and she could really use a few extra clicks right now, so if you have a few minutes click her and add to her totals. don't worry there isn't any pop up or anything. it is simply another site on blogspot in which she does paid posts.

Now for Two Line Tuesday the creation of Women Of Mystery.

A bit of dialogue from Plundered Booty my WIP ...

"For the love of God , Hank. How many damn books do you need to know those islands are covered in palm trees and sand?"

And from today's blogpost over at the Bookends Literary Agency. Check it out it's a very informative post from the other side of the desk.
Of course, on the other hand, I’ve sent letters a number of times to writers who later became clients, and those who resubmitted and still got rejected. There are no guarantees in this business from either side of the desk.

In other news, I have decided upon my next project once Booty is finished. Details to come.

So what's frying in your pan right now? Gearing up for summer? Dreading the kids being home all day? Headed somewhere exciting for vacation? Lubing sunscreen in all those places that haven't seen nary a ray of sunshine since last August? Curious minds want to know.

27 comments:

The Anti-Wife said...

Recovering from surgery and looking forward to geting back to my life and to writing. Loved your 2 lines and thanks for the joke!

Blogless Troll said...

I've been using Google Reader for about two months, and I love it. Saves a lot of time.

Debbielou said...

Google Reader - Will have to look that one up.
Am feeling ashamed for missing out on 2 weeks of My Town Monday - promise I will join in again for next week !!

Have a good week!

Monnik said...

google reader is amazing. I wouldn't be able to keep up without it.

Dr. Durham's piece sounds very interesting....

Great job on deciding what to do after your WIP. Now, are you going to share what it is with us???

Clair D. said...

I love google reader too-- the only downside was that sometimes I would cycle through my list of links AS something to do, even if I was sure that few, if any had updated since that morning. Kind of like channel surfing at 3am. =)

My summer kick-off starts with finishing the last two weeks of "teaching" yeah-- I gave them final projects and they work, I grade. And I finish the last 2.5 weeks of my spring term grad course. Then, it's read, write, and lay back until summer school.

cher said...

ok, now i'm all stressed out... will i make the cut?
i'm sweating.

Sherry said...

Well, I've had vacation, and I've already got one kid home from school for the summer...drat, now I'm feeling all bummed out like I've got nothing to look forward to!!! lol!!

Lisa said...

Hmm...with no kids at home (anymore) the summer isn't all that different than the winter (oh, except it's much more pleasant without the white stuff and sub-zero temps). The big thing I'm looking forward to is a week long writers' retreat in July -- woohoo, up in the woods for a week with writers, talking about writing, learning about craft, writing and maybe a few cocktails ;)

Spy Scribbler said...

Oh, Travis! I love Google Reader! Have you tried out co.mments.com yet?

Travis Cody said...

I dug in my heels against Google reader for the longest time. I mistakenly thought that it made leaving comments more difficult.

I'm pretty much an idiot sometimes. Now I don't know how I got through my blog roll before I started using it.

Carleen Brice said...

Thanks for the info about Google reader. I'm in the same boat.

Plans? Heading to BEA on Thursday!

Marla said...

Google Reader is the best! I used to do as you did and it took forever! I think you will find life is much easier. The only trouble I had is a few blogs I thought entered in correctly but had not so I almost lost them. Or a few blogs I read that don't have feeds.

Enjoy!

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

I gotta switch to google reader for the same exact reason you have just explained! And thanks ever so much for the plug! This subject really means alot to me!

E

Barbara Martin said...

Plans for the summer? Keeping the windows closed to keep out the smoggy, humid air. And finishing up the second manuscript while the first one tries to find a new home with an agent or publisher.

Oh, and doing my bit for MTM with sites around Toronto. This might be interesting as I have a few favourite restaurants and places I like to walk.

Jenster said...

Google Reader is simply THE best thing since sliced bread.

Bernita said...

Finishing the damned book is all I can think of right now.

Patti said...

i have wondered about that google reader...i may be next.

and, while i suffered a blow to the ego yesterday with an agent rejection, today i am in get up and keep hittin' it mode.

wait, did that sound sexual? good....

debra said...

I"ve thought about using Google reader and have intended to look at it. You know what they say is paved with good intentions....
Summertime summertime sum sum summertime..... we homeschool so #2 daughter is already home, #1 is home from college; more folks around the Village, the Peninsula Python Festival in July, going to the Adirondacks with friends who have a cottage. working on the garden and the house....
I've been over to Ello's--a really important discussion!

David said...

I've been thinking about using Google Reader for the same reasons that led you to it.

I'm waiting for agent responses and biting my finger nails. Figuratively speaking.

Michele said...

I'm going to have to look into using Google Reader. I definitely need something to help me save time.

sybil law said...

I am so coming back for that chick - that stuff infuriates me!
Also, I have google reader, but I barely use it. I am weird like that.
Your book sounds awesome!
I will be watching for your toonlet!
:)

Anonymous said...

Google Reader is so addictive. Thank you so much for the link - you have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Linda McLaughlin said...

Travis, glad you're enjoying Google Reader. I use Bloglines which is similar and I got pretty addicted to it, too. I finally had to unsubscribe from a bunch of news feeds to break the habit. It was distracting me from my writing. Horrors!

I finished my current WIP this morning, thank the gods. And I clicked on Jersey Girls site.

Linda

Charles Gramlich said...

I need to do google reader. My list is getting out of hand.

Duck said...

It's about dang time you started using Google Reader. I told you to do it how long ago now? Sheesh!

Melissa Amateis said...

I think I may need to break down and do the Google reader thing, too. Sometimes I get tired of clicking back and forth between my blog and my blog roll.

The discussion at Ell's blog was great! I need to buy that book.

Andrea Frazer said...

Google reader sounds good. I have so much to change on my blog site. I don't even have links to other people, and it's not from being a narcissist. Which I've been called. Unfairly, I might add. It's just I haven't organized my scrambling brain to do it. In time...

Summer for me means getting more freelance writing work, thinking about a novel, getting more in touch with my spiritual side and banning Diet Coke.