Melissa Maygrove

I'd like to thank all of you who took part in Follow Fest - my first blogfest to host, ever. The hop went better than I ever expected, and the response was overwhelming! Not in an unmanageable sort of way, but in an unexpected-number-of-participants sort of way. Once word got out, people just kept signing up! There were some speed bumps: the Linky Tools site went down for a while the very first day (*gasp!* I about died. LOL ), and a few posts were hindered by technical difficulties, family emergencies, and newborns — both human and feline. But, all in all, things went swimmingly well. And that's thanks to YOU. I wish I could give you all prizes. You're all winners, that's for sure. It was a fun, busy week and I'm exhausted, but I'm already toying with the idea of doing a repeat next year. So if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :) Ready to find out who the prize winners are?

Welcome to Follow Fest !   Today is Day 5, the last day of a 5-day blogfest!!! I don't know whether to be sad or relieved! :P Each day, I've posted the Linky list for the current and previous days, so today you'll have THE ENTIRE LIST. ( The deadline for entering was midnight last night. )  Did you make it in time?  If not, don't worry. You can still visit blogs on the Linkies. Now on to the fun...

Welcome to Follow Fest !   Today is Day 4 of a 5-day blogfest. If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time, but not much!   The deadline for the last Linky is tonight at 11:59 PM CDT. Each day, I'm posting the Linky lists for the current day and the previous days. 

Welcome to Follow Fest !   Today is Day 3 of a 5-day blogfest. If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time. :) Each day, I'm going to post the Linky list for the current day and any previous days. Need to sign up for a day not shown? No problem!  All the Linky lists are available on the Follow Fest information page . Just click, scroll down, and sign up. Now on to the fun...

Welcome to Follow Fest !   Today is Day 2 of a 5-day blogfest. Don't worry. If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time. :) Each day, I'll post the Linky list for the current day and any previous days. Need to sign up for a day not shown? No problem!  All the Linky lists are available on the Follow Fest information page . Just click, scroll down, and sign up. We had a frustrating couple of hours yesterday when the Linky Tools site went down. Hopefully, all that is behind us. Whew.

Welcome to Follow Fest !   Today is Day 1 of a 5-day blogfest. If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time. :) Each day, I'm going to post the Linky list for the current day and any previous days. Need to sign up for a day not shown? No problem!  All the Linky lists are available on the Follow Fest information page . Just click, scroll down, and sign up. Now on to the fun... Let's all give a running high five to Carrie Butler . To celebrate the opening of her new business...

Blog button designed by Carrie Butler The purpose of this blogfest is to meet other writers and build our platforms. It runs thru Friday. There's still time to sign up. :) Fiction or nonfiction? 99.9% Fiction What genres do you write?

This is a friendly reminder that Follow Fest starts Monday. You officially have until 11:59 PM CDT on Thursday, September 26th to sign up for the last Linky (Friday's); but the way the blogfest works, you'll get more exposure the earlier in the week you sign up. Why? Because I plan to list a new Linky each day, and also list the previous days' Linkies. Like this... You still haven't signed up? Aw, c'mon. This is going to be fun! There'll be lots of neat people to meet, and a giveaway, too. Excuse #1   I don't know how to pre-schedule a blog post .

Today is release day for CassaStorm — the final book in the sci-fi space opera trilogy by Alex J Cavanaugh! Before we go any further, Alex wants you to know that all it takes is leaving a comment on his blog this week for a chance to win a Cassa mug, mousepad, magnet, and swag!   Alex offered to answer random questions from bloggers for his tour.  Mine was...

ONLY 99c TO HELP SUPPORT THE INDIE AUTHOR & AN AMAZING CHARITY! by Jessica Bell The day I realized I’d been obsessing over my sales figures way too much was the day I closed my eyes and tried to think about the real reason I am an indie author. Is my primary goal to make money? No. So why do I keep obsessing over my sales stats? I realized it’s because more sales means more people reading my work. What I really really want is to be read. I want to share the one thing in this world I would cut my fingers off for. I know. If I didn’t have any fingers, I wouldn’t be able to physically write, but you know what I mean. My passion for writing comes with a perpetual replacement button, attached to my side seam, just in case it becomes unraveled, and falls off, after a day gallivanting through the publishing jungle. It can be tough in there, but in the end, being an indie author is OH SO WORTH IT. This made me wonder …  what’s everybody else’s story? Then...

I've come across several bloggers who have difficulty remembering to post things on time, so I decided to offer a blogging tip today on organizing yourself and planning ahead for posts. While I recommend having some kind of calendar or notebook to keep track of your blog, this tip adds another layer of organization. (Caveat: This tip is for Blogger blogs.) When you have a recurring posts, like Alex J Cavanaugh's IWSG or special posts you need to hold the date for, you can create place-holder reminder posts for yourself and save them for later. Just start a New Post Fill in any text, images, and links you have so far Schedule the date and time you want it to launch Then create some kind of title that lets you know what it is when you see it on your dashboard Since you're putting the post in draft mode, it doesn't have to be perfect. You'll have a chance to change it and polish it up before you publish. Here's what one looks like on the Posts da...

Eminent vs Imminent Eminent (adj.) means high in rank or repute; prominent, distinguished; conspicuous; protruding. He is one of several eminent professors at the university . Imminent (adj.) means likely to occur at any moment; impending. The baby's head was crowning; birth was imminent . Fateful vs Faithful Fateful (adj.) means having great significance or consequences; disastrous; prophetic; ominous. Although often used to describe something dismal, a fateful day or event can be positive or negative . A pile of melted metal and charred wood stood as an eerie monument to that fateful day . Faithful (adj.) means reliable, trusted, true to one's word; true to fact, an original, accurate. Sue is a faithful member of our group. He gave a faithful account .  ### That's all for today. Thanks for visiting. :) 

This is my Insecure Writers Support Group post for September. For more information about the group, click the link or see the bottom of this post. Alex's awesome co-hosts this month are:   Chemist Ken, SL Hennessy, Michelle Wallace,   and Joylene Nowell Butler!   Please visit their blogs and say thank you. And check Alex's blog , too.  He has a special announcement. I can't believe it's already the second anniversary of IWSG. I've been a member for over a year and I've watched it grow, a lot. Not that anyone cares, but for nostalgia's sake, I've linked a couple of my past posts. This was my post on IWSG's one-year anniversary . And this was probably my best IWSG post to date...my funniest, at least. I don't want to dampen everyone's spirits on such a happy day by droning on about my troubles. ( I'm in virtually the same spot I was at the beginning of the summer--life getting in the way of my writing, makin...