Journey Support and more contest love

The blogosphere is overflowing with contests! Check out Lisa Descrocher's giveaway.

I recently received the Journey Support Award from Jon Paul. Admittedly it's been over a week, but I wanted to post it when I got a chance to give it its own dedicated post.



To tell you the truth, blog awards were starting to become like email chains. The first and second are cute, but then... I mean, it's nice to receive all the love, and some of them are quite fun. But after a while you get the feeling that they're a bit, well pointless, like those emails that you have to feel in 40 random facts about yourself (would you rather be eaten by a bear or burnt alive?) that don't change anything in the grand schem of things.

The Journey Support Award is not that award.

There aren't any requirements attached to it. You receive it for helping someone along in the blogosphere and in turn you give it to those who've helped you. There've so many people who've helped me in making this blog what it is, and helped to become the writer I am, which is, still a work in progress. Thank you for your Support, I couldn't have made this journey without you.

Marsha Sigman- for her thoughts. This was one of the first writing blogs I stumbled across. I don't even remember how. But I'm glad I did. Marsha, like me, is unpublished and unagented. What makes her blog invaluable to me is her thoughts. Writing is more about what you think and feel ad how you say it, as opposed to other feels where you're an expert based on credentials. Can I guarantee that you'll love her blog? Nope. But I can guarantee that when she's published I'll be buying 20 of her books. Thank you, Marsha.

Jon Paul- I try not to do the pass the award back thing. But I've learned so much from Jon Paul. And, he's responsible for the only short story I've ever put online. We've got a lot in common. I dabbled in the military back in the day too. And every once in a while, I have to remind myself that it would be stalkerish to just show up in Sicily. Thank you, Jon Paul.

Laura (Elbie)- I've only known Laura a few months. She's my critique partner. I feel like I hit the jackpot with her. We both write the same sort of YA. I mean not everybody grew up in a world where their biggest problems were evil cheerleaders and bully jocks. And outside our writing, we're still a lot alike. I consider myself fortunate to have found not just a critique partner, but a friend. Thank you, Laura.

E.J.- What can I say about E.J? He's the organiser of the Weekly Critique group and the full MS critique group that I'm a part of. He's the whole reason I even know Laura. We also share a love of movies. His nuggets of advice are golden, even though he's a baby in this publishing maze. Just like me. Thank you, E.J.

Tawna- Superhero who solves problems that even Chianti can't solve. Hardly a week goes by when I don't quote something or the other from Tawna. I just love the feel of her blog. 1 part risque, 1 part humour, 1 part brilliance. She makes me laugh out loud, most days. And on the others, I feel like I've learned something so essential I wonder how I got by without it. Her blog is like coffee. You either love it and swear by it, or you can't stand the stuff. When I grow up, I want to be like Tawna. Thank you, Tawna.

Last but definitely not least, YA Highway. I don't usually recommend things. Different strokes for different folks and all that jazz. But whether or not you're a YA writer, you should definitely check out the Field Trip Fridays. This group of YA writers sweep up and down the blogosphere bringing you the best in contests, publishing, writing, reading and random. In between the Fridays, they bring you author and agent interviews, a feature on the queries which landed them their agents and why they worked and pertinent thoughts and questions. They've taught me so much. Thank you, YA Highway.