My Choices in Publishing

"The future ain't what it used to be."  ~Yogi Berra

If only a peek into a crystal ball could tell us which road to take. 

A group of children's writers had some interesting discussions via email about traditional publishing vs. nontraditional. We decided to blog about our choices and link the posts together. The links for the others who are participating are at the end of this post. I hope you'll visit their sites, too.

We're witnessing mind-boggling, historical changes in publishing. I have mixed feelings.

Sometimes it drives me crazy.

And it's kinda scary, in a way.

When I hear about writers being conned or taken advantage of, it makes me monster mad.

Over the past two years, I've given a lot of thought as to which direction to go with my writing, and I've decided self-publishing is for me. For now. 

Would you turn down a half a million dollars to self-publish?

Best selling authors Barry Eisler and Joe Konrath discuss this very question in an interview. Eisler explains why he turned down a half-million advance in favor of self-publishing. It makes sense to me. Warning – contains some colorful language:  Here's a link that weighed heavily in my decision.

These are some reasons I'm foregoing the traditional route, at least until the industry becomes more stable:

• It's as hard to get an agent as it is to get a publisher. 
• If I do get an agent, there's no guarantee the agent can sell the manuscript since publishers are acquiring fewer and fewer titles.
• Some agents are publishing their clients' works, which some people consider a conflict of interest. It's stirring up quite a controversy. There are a lot of other strange things happening where authors are being slighted by publishers, agents, and others, so I just don't know who to trust! 
• I've known several authors whose book deals fell through. Talk about disappointment.
• Bookstores are carrying less books in lieu of promoting toys and specialty items.
• Publishers expect authors to promote themselves. Debut authors aren't sent on book tours or given much help with marketing, plus most publishers expect writers to have a good following and a strong social media platform before even considering taking us on.
• Once published, our books are given a three- to four-month window to do well. After that, they're pulled from the shelves, if they even get a coveted spot on a shelf in the first place. They could end up in a bin at a dollar store! Yikes! After all that hard work. 
• Publishers are still charging high rates for eBooks. With little overhead, they pocket most of the profit, while the author gets 25% royalties or less. 

Here are some reasons I'm choosing to self-publish:

• I can control the price of my books and offer them at an affordable rate in this sluggish economy.
• My books won't go out of print. Ever.
• I've already tested the waters with an eBook of three short stories, "Trio of Haunting Tales," so I know what I'm in for. Formatting for the Kindle was a nightmare. Since then, I found a formatter whose prices are affordable and she does a professional job. She formatted the first two books in the Monster Moon series (see below).
• I know better than to expect instant results, realizing it will likely take years of hard work before bringing in a decent income. I'm in it for the long haul. (Thanks to Bob Mayer's blog posts for making me aware of this common sense strategy. See his links below.)
• With each new title I publish, the odds in my favor will increase (realizing the books I publish must be well written and professional). Right now, there are more Monster Moon books in the works, and I plan to publish a chapter book (ages 7 to 10) in 2012. I'm excited to have more titles to share with kids when I do author visits.
• Publishers are having a hard time collecting from some of the major wholesalers, which is one reason we're not publishing future Monster Moon books through Stargazer Publishing. If the publisher doesn't get paid, then the authors don't get paid. 

I'm off to a good start with a picture book and two middle grade novels (ages 8 - 12) under my belt, plus the short eBook mentioned above:

• MERRY AS A CRICKET, 2002, a picture book by WhipperSnapper Books, a small press. They were wonderful to work with. They did all the marketing and supported me in any promoting I did on my own. Unfortunately, a second title I wrote on assignment with author Janet Reyes never came to fruition because they closed their doors. Again, problems with collections contributed to their closing down.

• Two books in the Monster Moon series for ages 8 to 12, by Stargazer Publishing: CURSE AT ZALA MANOR and SECRET OF HAUNTED BOG, co-authored by Kathryn Sant, Maria Toth, and myself under the pseudonym BBH McChiller. (Links are in the sidebar.) Stargazer is a small, independent press that sells to schools and libraries.   

One of my friends, Stephanie Jefferson, is self-publishing her debut novel in February. It's about a warrior princess in the ancient kingdom of Nubia. She wrote a blog post about her decision HERE.

Awesome cover, Stephanie!

Stephanie has a wild card in her favor - a raving review by Publishers Weekly when her young adult novel qualified as a semi-finalist in Amazon's contest. She didn't win, but that review is like gold. If Stephanie wasn't recovering from a serious illness, she would be participating in this blogfest. 

Here are a few comments explaining why she's choosing to self-publish: 

"My thinking is, with the economy in a serious decline and bookstores closing, the publishers are taking less and less, they are accepting even fewer debut works. Add to that the reality that the royalties are getting less, the support for marketing is nearly nonexistent, and writers have little to no input in covers and illustrations (even when it changes the direction of the story). Do I want a contract? If I can develop a product that is of equal/or better quality, what do I need them for?

"The likelihood of earning out my advance within their prescribed limit is pretty low, which is a mark against me. Instead of being an unknown and high-risk investment as a debut author, I would be labeled a money-losing author."


Another writer friend, Susan Kaye Quinn, wrote an insightful post on 10/5/11, Investing in Your Writing Career, or Why I Decided to Self-Publish Open Minds (click here). She draws an analogy how publishing with a large publisher is like investing in high-flying individual stocks: 

"This is no shock to anyone who has examined the odds of making it through the big pub gauntlet, which is really an all-or-nothing deal: either you win the lotto or you trunk your novel. The return is potentially large (or not - most traditionally pubbed authors don't outsell their advances), but there is a risk of losing years of time waiting to win (at least in writing you only lose your time, not your money).


"My writing investment portfolio has a novel and an anthology with a small pub company, paying small monthly dividends (like bonds). I also have several unpublished novels in various states of 'completeness,' including a middle grade SF, middle grade fantasy, Open Minds (young adult paranormal/SF), and another project not listed on my WiP page (that will be going through the big pub route)."

OPEN MINDS will be launched November 1st.

I love this cover!

Laura Pauling's blog, Exercising the Right to Ramble, has some interesting posts that leave us with a lot to ponder:      

Warning: Changes in publishing industry may cause whiplash - 7/6/11

Let's Talk: Agents as Publishers - 7/13/11

What exactly is self promotion in today's world publishing? (part 2) 7/22/11

Vanishing shelf space and self-promotion (part 3) - 7/27/11

Did the Mayan 2012 apocalypse refer to traditional publishing? Or not? - 8/31/11 

Here are some helpful posts from best-selling author Bob Mayer's blog, Write It Forward:
The Perfect Storm is Looming in Publishing - 9/27/11
The myth of backlist and a dramatic change in publishing - 8/13/11
The real gatekeepers in publishing now? Authors - 9/14/11, "99.5% of indie/self-published authors will be gone in two years.  Other will take their place.  And be gone in two years." 
"Should your agent self-publish you? Can your agent self-publish you? 7/26/11
eBooks as the new mass market paperback and don’t be Buridan’s Ass - 7/19/11
Publish your book or play the lottery? 6/6/11
There is Gold in self-publishing - 6/2/11, "Is there gold for the unpublished author who self-publishes?  Yes.  But the odds are roughly the same as getting an agent, who can sell to an editor, who gets the publisher to put the book out, and readers find the book, and read it, and recommend it, etc. etc."

From Agent Kristin Nelson’s blog, Pub Rants, her post dated 5/18/11 – 21st Century Evolution Of Agent’s Role

It's been a long, wonderful journey this past decade. My writer friends and I have attended many writing conferences and workshops, studied the craft of writing, and learned from each other. Many exciting things are taking place among us: Some are self-publishing, some are choosing a small press, and some are sticking with the traditional route. A few are branching out and choosing more than one way to publish. We'll support each other and new writer friends we meet along the way as we pour our hearts into our writing and work hard to make our dreams come true. 

"The magic is inside you. There ain't no crystal ball." ~ Dolly Parton 

Have you been keeping up with all the changes in publishing? What do you think about it? Please share your feelings and opinions.  

Here are the links for the other writers in this blog ring. I hope you'll check out their posts to read about their choices in publishing:

Heather Kelly - Edited to Within an Inch of My Life

Kristine Asselin - Writing. For Real.

Ansha Kotyk - A Writer's View of the World

Tina Laurel Lee - Watch Me Practice

Anita Laydon Miller's Middle Grade Blog

Tom M. Franklin - Franklin, Ink

Heard Any Good Jokes Lately?

I love to laugh and be as nutty as a numb skull. Humor is subjective, and different types of humor appeal to different people. But laughter and its benefits are universal.

Last year on our way to Ghost Walk, a Halloween event, my husband and I stopped by to see our grandbaby, Little Twinkle Eyes. I was dressed as a skeleton, Funny Bones, so I hoped the makeup wouldn't scare her. 

She wasn't afraid! She recognized my voice and let me hold her, so I told some impromptu Halloween jokes and my son happened to get a video clip. I titled the YouTube video, "Funny Bones and Bootiful Baby."

 Need a chuckle? The video is less than a minute long. 

Watch it, then share the jokes with others. 

Are they silly jokes? Yep, sure are, but they're still amusing! And everyone needs a laugh.

How do you make a skeleton, laugh? 

Tickle her funny bone. Ha-ha! 

(Courtesy laughs are much appreciated! Hey, kids love this stuff.)

There's a lot of info out there about how healthy laughter is for us. You know, how a good belly laugh releases endorphins - chemicals released by the brain which give us a sense of well being. Here's an excellent article titled, "Laughter, the Best Medicine."

Here are some benefits of laughter:

• Reduces stress
• Relaxes the muscles
• It's good for your heart
• Can lower high blood pressure
• It can lessen pain
• Boosts your immune system
• Helps bond relationships
• Gives us strength to press through difficult times

These are just some of the benefits of laughter. Can you think of any others? Can you remember a time when you laughed your head off and how it helped you? Care to share?

Another Cyber Sucker Punch

I've been sucker punched. Again. Yep, and I did it to myself. Not funny. 

Computer glitch meltdowns fry and refry my brain. There's a definite disconnect in my gray matter when it comes to technology. Even simple changes often cause a ripple effect where one problem leads to another and another. It sends me spiraling into cyberspace mania.

I've had Yahoo Mail for years. I'm a creature of habit. It's so nice to know what I'm doing. But the latest Yahoo Mail upgrade (which I didn't even want) isn't compatible with Mac. It has trouble loading and sending, plus freezes up while trying to access emails. I mean, come on, having to sign in 50 times a day is maddening.

I downloaded recommended firewalls, which made things worse. I finally got a hold of someone at Yahoo support, but got kicked off in the middle of the chat. I had to start all over, but finally got through again. This time I was on long enough to do what the tech told me, but that didn't help. Then I lost her again and gave up.

So what's a tech idiot supposed to do? A friend said I should get Gmail and have my Yahoo mail forwarded, so I took the plunge and opened a Gmail account. The glitch - I need Yahoo Plus to have my Yahoo mail forwarded to my Gmail. Well, I can't afford didley squat to upgrade anything.  However, it did allow me to import all my contacts and info from the Yahoo account. Yay, I was making progress.

Then I stumbled on an option where I could link my Gmail to my Yahoo mail. Aha! That ought to do it. Click. That was easy. Or so I thought.

Now, I know you techies are already laughing and shaking your heads at my bungling. You lucky ducks who find technology a cinch know what an idiotic move that was. I'll blame it on the late hour of the night. I went to sleep, thinking the problem was solved.

This morning when I signed in to check out the new Gmail account, it took me into my Yahoo Mail. Say what? What the heck? I tried to open an email, but couldn't access it. Same old issues. I tried logging in again through Google and it took me back into Yahoo Mail.

Yep, it connected my Gmail account with my Yahoo Mail, the exact opposite of what I wanted. I was running in cyber circles. The insanity didn't end there.

When Yahoo Mail froze up on me again, I decided to go to my Google dashboard and check the stats on my blog. A dashboard for a new account under my new Gmail address appeared. It said I hadn't started a blog yet. I couldn't get to my old dashboard. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to blog again. I couldn't bare the thought of starting over.

I needed to delete this new account, but how? Google doesn't have support people to contact, or maybe they do and they're hiding from me. Over and over I tried to figure it out. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Scream!

Well, it's good to cry and let it out. It beats having chest pains, for sure.

Cyber space cadet - A Classic Case of Refried Brain

Finally, I figured out how to log in with my old email address and accessed my dashboard. What a relief.  But how to fix the other things? How to undo all the mistakes I made? I just can't deal with it right now.  

Are you a tech wizard? Or are you challenged like me? How do you cope with tech problems? I know I'm not the only one, but I know I'm a hard case. I'm going to unplug for a bit. Maybe take a nap, for a day or two.

How Do You Cook Up Suspense?

Teachers, Home-schoolers, Writers, KIDS - 
Here's a Spooklicious Creative Writing Lesson For You! 

The Literary Witches of Craggy Cove: 

Frizzelda (Maria Cisneros Toth) and Batsey (Kathryn Sant)

COOKING UP SUSPENSE!

One of my Monster Moon co-authors, Maria Toth, called me at 10:30 Thursday night.  She was so excited, I thought maybe she'd just signed a six-figure contract!

Nope (not yet anyway)! She was playing around with YouTube and found a video from two years ago when she and co-author Kathy Sant starred in a Homework Hotline episode on KLCS - a PBS TV station affiliate, Los Angeles.

The script was titled, "Cooking Up Suspense." Hostess Lorien Eck explained, “Students will learn how to apply some of the basic elements of storytelling and specifically one of the most important elements - SUSPENSE.”


The half-hour program is split up into three parts. Bookmark this post so you can find it when you need it. Kids love the silly humor and cool Halloween props we lugged onto the set, like Fangs, the vampire bat in a bird cage, and a bubbling cauldron stewing with the elements of suspense.

                                   Part 1 of 3

Part 2 of 3

                                 Part 3 of 3

In case you're wondering where yours truly was (bawk! bawk! bawk!), I was way too chicken to be on TV, so I was happy as the cue card girl. Even doing that made me nervous! At times, my hands shook as I hurried to switch to the next card.

I could have read an excerpt from our first Monster Moon book, CURSE AT ZALA MANOR (more info in the sidebar), but I was afraid I'd get stage fright, so we asked my daughter to read it, and she did a super job. We even got her husband to play the parts of Dr. Frankenstein and Dracula!

Kathy and Maria didn't like the teleprompters (which messed up at one point), and they were depending on me. Maria told Bryan Heffron, the director, that she couldn't memorize all her lines because, "Hey, I'm 50 years old. My mind is like an Etch-A-Sketch!"

Here I am with the poster board cue cards I made! 

I'm giving a thumbs up to my Zombuddies, Kathy and Maria.

I really felt the heat when the director announced there was no time for a full rehearsal, that once we began, there was no stopping, no re-taping. "You make a mistake, you live with it!"

Yikes! But Kathy and Maria kept their cool and did an amazing job.

Practice run-through at home the week before

A lot of work went into writing, tweaking, and practicing the script, plus gathering all the props for the set. Looking back on the videos two years later, Maria laughed and said, "Oh, my gosh, it was such a SCREAM!" We were all loopy from pushing to get everything done on time for two 30-minute episodes.

Here I am goofing off with MC (Main Character - the dummy under the blanket).

MC saved the spot for the werewolf to switch places during the last few minutes of the segment. Toward the end of the show, the werewolf sat up and made his appearance.

The werewolf was actually my husband, George. He was slowly suffocating under the blanket. At the time, we didn't know the werewolf mask didn't have nostril holes. (The things our loved ones get dragged into to help promote our books!)

There's another Homework Hotline episode we did titled, "Brainstorming in the Rainstorm," but we haven't found it on YouTube yet. If we find it, I'll post it in case anyone wants to use it for another creative writing lesson.

So, how about you? Would you be gutsy enough to do something like this on TV, or would you rather help out behind the scenes and hold up cue cards like I did?

Cheers to 35 Years! Where Were You in 1976?

Last week my hubby and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary. We went out to eat and had a nice quiet celebration. Just like our wedding, which was a small family wedding on my folks' patio.  

Tied the knot in September 1976, the year of America's bicentennial. 

Best man, Jim George, a Vietnam war hero.

 Maid of honor, my sister, Pam, holding back sentimental tears. 

And the two shall become one.

Then three...

Then four...

Then five...

And, finally, six!

Kelley Crew in 1989

And in 2008

"Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts."

(Author uknown)

A lot has happened in 35 years.

Our family has grown. 

Three have married. 

And we have a granddaughter - Little Twinkle Eyes!

And three weeks ago, our grandson, Punkin, was born!

Here we are on our anniversary, a happy, old married couple. 

How did we do it? It's been so long, I honestly can't remember! 

But lots of clownin' helped, for sure.

“Laugh a lot, and when you’re older, all your wrinkles will be in the right places.”

Let Your Love Flow by the Bellamy Brothers 

One of the top songs in 1976

Where were you in 1976? If you weren't born yet, do you think you would have liked living back then?

Tommy Kovac - Graphic Novelist

Meet Tommy Kovac - Writer - Illustrator - Graphic Novelist

Self-portrait

Tommy Kovac is one of the most interesting, talented people I know. Before sharing a really cool childhood story about Tommy, let's look at some of his first publications.

First comics series, "Stitch"

He's been writing and illustrating these comics since 1999. 

Published by SLG Publishing. 

 

Links to his website are below.  

Tommy describes these three series as "very edgy with lots of mature humor."

"Forget & Sever" is an illustration for his trade paperback, "Stitch."

Here are his latest writing projects, two five-issue graphic novels:  

"Wonderland," SLG/Disney, illustrated by Sonny Liew

and 

an Oz-related series, "The Royal Historian of Oz,"

SLG Publishing, illustrated by Andy Hirsch.

Both graphic novels are for all ages.

I met Tommy at Books Born Here, our writers' group that meets in Riverside, California. One time he shared a memory about his childhood. I asked him to retell it so I could post it on my blog because it says a lot about who he is and why he was the perfect one to write Wonderland, even though his publisher didn't know it at the time he asked him to work on it!

The rabbit hole story and other reflections from Tommy Kovac, in his own words:

           

     "I was little, maybe around 5 or 6, and I loved Alice In Wonderland. We always had lots of books around the house, and it was one of the first books I learned to read all by myself. I used to read it out loud to my parents. I was also pretty obsessed with the ride at Disneyland. I got my dad to dig me a big, deep 'rabbit hole' in our back yard so I could pretend to be Alice crawling in and floating down to Wonderland. I spent hours in that hole, imagining.

   
     "When my publisher at SLG first asked me to write 'Wonderland' for the Disney project, I excitedly told him how much I love the original story and even blurted out the thing about my dad digging me a rabbit hole in our back yard.


     "My publisher said, 'Wow. That's pretty f*&#%d up. Maybe you're TOO into it.' (That cracked me up.)

   
     "I was an only child, and my parents were totally awesome. Still are. Can you imagine a dad going along so easily with his son pretending to be ALICE IN WONDERLAND?! And my dad was a total football jock in high school.
   
     "I remember him trying to throw the football around with me in our back yard. I think he only tried ONCE, and quickly realized I was better suited to drawing and other 'artistic' pursuits. Interestingly enough, my dad is a well-rounded guy and also used to draw and sketch a lot. I remember watching him and being fascinated by the special pencils and the crumbly eraser.
     
     "Both of my parents are very artistic, but in different ways. My mom has a total Martha Stewart streak. Not the insider trading kind, or the scary ice queen kind, though! What I mean is that my mom has a real knack for design and color, and a great eye for visual balance. Her house is always beautiful, and she can make really cool handmade things. She has superb taste, which is a quality I'm not sure can be taught. What I'm trying to say is that I totally get whatever creative talent I have from both parents.

   
     "My mom gave me my first typewriter when I was about 9, an old manual kind that clacked when you hit the keys and chinged when you hit the carriage return. She taught me which fingers are supposed to go with which keys, and I immediately started typing my own little stories. It would be hard for me to talk about my creative pursuits without also talking about my parents, because they've been so encouraging and supportive all the way through.

     "You know, I work with teenagers in the school library, and there are plenty of kids whose parents tell them exactly what they should be and what they should do with their lives. It's sad. You see these poor kids who have been convinced to go to law school, or to become doctors, when they really want to dance, or sing, or paint. They've been taught to equate success with money, which I think is wrong.


     "Some people WANT to be lawyers or doctors, which is great, but there are also some of us who have that burning need to create stories or pictures or whatever, and to share them with other people. And most of us don't make very much money from it! But that's not the point, either, is it?  :)"

Thanks for sharing your memories and insight with us, Tommy. 

To read an interview of Tommy Kovac by Stephanie Jefferson, go here.

Read the awesome reviews of Tommy's work:

Some of his artwork is for sale on his website. 

Here are his other links:

email:  tommy@tommykovac.com

website: www.tommykovac.com
facebook: www.facebook.com/tommy.kovac
library-themed blog: www.smellslikelibrary.blogsot.com/
everything else-themed blog: www.tommykovac.blogspot.com/
Amazon’s page for my upcoming graphic novel release (October 11, 2011)
My comics publisher’s online shop with my stuff

A question for my readers:  What do you think about graphic novels? Do you have a favorite comic book series? Or did you as a kid?

Blogger's Insight Re Blog Awards

Do you jump for joy when you receive an award?

I received the Liebster Blog award from Gene Lempp the other day. What an honor, since I value his opinions and admire his writing. In fact, his Wednesday "Designing from Bones" posts are some of my favorites, chock full of fascinating info and cool writing prompts. Check them out when you get a chance. If I was a teacher, I'd use his writing prompts with my students. Great for any age, elementary school through college. Perfect for us, too!

"Liebster is the German word for friend."

Anyway, part of Gene's post shares reflections on blog awards that I thought others might find interesting. So, with Gene's permission, here's a partial quote from his 9-3-11 post:

"Over the course of the last week I received two blog awards. The first was the Versatile Blogger, given to me by Amanda Rudd. This is my second of these. The other is the Liebster Award from Marie Andrews, a new-found ROW80 friend.

"After receiving the awards, I had several conversations with a few of my blogger buds and gained some interesting insights. Some bloggers see awards as a type of chain letter. Others meet them with a 'nice, but one more thing on my plate I don't have time to deal with' choice. Some are excited to be given an award, others, well, not so much.

"As I considered the words of my friends, I came to a realize that the value of the award was based on point-of-view. Given that our goal is to build author platform for our work, how do the awards help?

"Let's consider the points of value that come with being given and displaying awards.

"1) While the award may be of little personal value to a veteran author/blogger, our blogs are not for us, but for our readers. If we are truly building platform then not all of our visitors are author/bloggers, some are readers. Displaying our awards adds a sense of "expertise" to our site and posts for our non-blogging guests. You know, the ones that we want to buy, read and enjoy our books.

"2) Not all bloggers are veterans. In fact, blogging does not come easily to everyone. It took me four attempts over the course of six years to finally start the blog you are reading. In honesty, if it wasn't for Kristen Lamb, Jami Gold and my wife, I wouldn't be here now.

"Blog awards are a simple and effective way to offer our support and appreciation of those we visit and read. It can make all the difference in another bloggers world. When Sonia G. Medeiros gave me my first Versatile Blogger award, it let me know, much to my surprise, that at least one person out there enjoyed my writing. It gave me the boost I needed to keep going.

"The rules that are attached to each award are what make them appear to be chain letters. I do not think that we should allow ourselves to remain trapped in, or trap others into, having to comply with these rules in order to receive an award. If we are going to show appreciation, then show it. No strings attached. Hey, I love your work. You deserve this. Great job."

Thanks for your thoughts on blog awards, Gene. And thank you for the Liebster Blog award and for telling us that Liebster is the German word for friend.

I personally love to read all the interesting facts bloggers share about themselves when answering questions that came with an award, but I have to agree with Gene that for some bloggers, it might seem burdensome. That's why I made it optional the last time I passed on some awards, so the recipient could enjoy the award and answer the questions and pass the award on if they so chose.

Last week I also received an award from the awesome C. Lee McKenzie of The Write Game. It's the One To Follow award.

I'm choosing to pass these super cool awards on. I would like to give the One to Follow award to these bloggers:

Gene Lempp - As I said above, his "Designing from Bones" posts are fascinating. Not only that, Gene is always helpful with tweeting and blogging and is an all-around nice guy.

Tiffany A White of Tiffany A White's Ooo Factor - I was up in the air about whether to give Tiffany the Liebster award or the One to Follow award. She's a Twitter friend and also has a cool blog with posts featuring Tele-Tuesday and Why It's Worth a Watch Wednesday and Friday FabOoolousness. She's a fun one to follow.

Ellie Ann of Navigating Through the Week - She has a wild imagination and features any commenters in her Tall Tales posts who are game to be mentioned in the next Tall Tales Tuesday fun. She has other worthwhile posts, too, but her Tall Tales is one of my favs.  

As for the Liebster award, I'd like to pass this on to these new friends that I've met in the blogosphere:

Robyn Campbell of Putting Pen to Paper - We haven't been following each other's blogs very long, but we became instant friends. She's supportive and enthusiastic. Her love of life bubbles up in her emails and comments. She has seven kids, runs a farm, and somehow finds time to write! 


Misha of My First Book - Misha is another new blogger friend. She shares great info and tips, asks for advice, and offers kind words. 


Bish of Random Thoughts - She grew up on the Virgin Islands and now lives in Texas and is dealing with one of the worst droughts they've ever had. I'm just getting to know Bish, but she admits to being a bit of a prankster, so I consider her a kindred spirit! 


I'd like to give the award recipients the option to share something about themselves with us in the comments or on their blog. How about sharing a favorite childhood memory or an embarrassingly funny memory? SHARE IF YOU DARE! Hee-hee! And feel free to pass the award on to someone who deserves it.

How do you feel about blog awards? 

Do you love them? 

Or not?