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Archive for Blogs I Love!

Blogs I Love: Susan Kaye Quinn, Conjuring Tales For Young Minds

By Lorijo Metz · Comments (0)
Thursday, October 11th, 2012

One of the best things about being a writer is having writer friends, and I’ve met most of my writer friends through an organization called the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators—or SCBWI, as it’s commonly referred to.

Children’s writers, in particular, are hugely supportive of each other. It’s tough to make it in this business, but if you’re going to be successful you quickly learn that rejection, whether it comes in the form of a rejection letter from an editor or agent, or simply a one star review on amazon, is almost a daily occurrence. Successful writers are writing, revising, submitting, and nowadays, self-publishing on a regular basis. In other words, we’re constantly putting ourselves, or rather, our writing out there for everyone to read and judge. And, believe me, not everyone is kind!

Honestly, if I hadn’t had the support of my writer friends, I might have given up long ago. More important, however, is the knowledge I’ve gained through my associations with other writers. Knowledge about things like how to write a query letter, how to submit to an editor, how to format a manuscript, and well… just basic writing skills—not to mention the many hours we’ve spent critiquing each others’ stories.

So, in the spirit of offering my readers (many of whom are also writers) writerly support, I’d like to introduce you to Susan Kaye Quinn. Susan Kaye Quinn is the best-selling author of The Mindjack Trilogy.

I’ve never met Susan, but I do know she’s a member (or at least was a member) of SCBWI. Much like all the other SCBWI writers I’ve met, you have only to visit Susan’s website to see how supportive she is of her fellow writers. Susan’s website is listed on my Useful Websites page (found under the 4 Writer’s tab), but I’ll post the link HERE so you can pop over there immediately and begin checking out her own “For Writers” page and start making use of all the links and information she provides.

Ironically, when I went to write this post today, I discovered Susan, much like me, was busy promoting another helpful writer, Denise Grover Swank. You won’t want to miss that post either… and to that end, here’s the link: Must Do For Self-Publishers: Creating A Business Plan

Happy writing and reading, my friends. By the way, if you’d like to recommend a website to add to my list of Useful Websites, you can send me the link via my contact page. I won’t promise to add it, but I will take a look!

www.SusanKayeQuinn.com

www.SCBWI.org

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Categories : 4 Writers, Blogs I Love!
Tags : Fantasy, Links, Mindjack Trilogy, Popular Young Adult Science Fiction Books, Publishing, SCBWI, Science Fiction Author, self publishing, Susan Kaye Quinn, Writing, Writing Resources

Blogs I Love: Kate Brauning – Now Reading: Shadow and Bone

By Lorijo Metz · Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 1st, 2012

That’s right, I’ve combined two categories. No wait–I’ve combined two categories and subtracted one. Let me explain…

A few nights ago, while watching the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Summer Olympics (not from the awesomeness of London, but from the comfort of my own living room), I happened upon the website and blog of writer and English teacher, Kate Brauning; whereupon, I also discovered my next read, Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.

(Okay… so I was watching the Opening Ceremonies, tweeting, googling and reading blogs. Oh, and eating dinner.)

I’d heard of Shadow and Bone and seen its gorgeous cover posted several places across the Internet, but it was Kate Brauning’s review which finally convince me to read it. Kate’s review is so well written and informative, I’m not even going to attempt to write one. Hence, the subtraction of a category I alluded to above.

Blogs I Love + Now Reading  - Reviews = This post, and only post.

What I appreciated about Kate’s review was how she analyzed the writing and discussed craft. The English teacher side of her obviously loves to give her readers something to take away that, hopefully, will improve their own writing. Check out Kate Brauning’s other reviews at: http://katebrauning.com/blog. She also has a page dedicated to Books on Craft (as in the craft of writing) and offers up a taste of her own novel: The Other Side Of Silence (A work in progress, I believe).

By the way: Shadow and Bone has a different title and totally different look in the UK. Check it out: The Gathering Dark: The Grisha: Book One
Related articles
  • Shadow And Bone (kaidamian.wordpress.com)
  • Review: Shadow and Bone (katebrauning.com)

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Categories : Blogs I Love!, Book Discussions, What's On My Bookshelf
Tags : 2012 Summer Olympics, Arts, Bone, Books, English as a foreign or second language, Kate, Kate Brauning, Leigh Bardugo, London, review, Shadow and Bones, Writing

Blogs I Love: John Guy Collick, on and on I sped, into futurity…

By Lorijo Metz · Comments (2)
Thursday, July 19th, 2012

From a post entitled: Aelita, Queen of Mars. 1924

I prefer to subscribe to blogs by email. Yet, I must admit to sometimes deleting the emailed posts before I even read them. Hey, life is busy, time is short and choices must be made. (I do read most of them, I promise) However, I have yet to delete one of John Guy Collick’s posts. In fact, the moment the happy announcement shows up in my inbox, I either immediately click it open and pop over to his blog, or flag it to savor and enjoy when I have more time.

I don’t know John Guy Collick, but I do know we share “a life-long love affair with Science Fiction and Fantasy…” He also posts about theater and art, two other subjects I enjoy. What makes his writing so interesting is that he always picks quirky or unique (and definitely fun) subjects to write about and I always leave feeling as if I’ve learned something new (or at least picked up a trinket of valuable trivia.)

For example, for those of you who, like me, are avid Game of Thrones fans check out John’s post on The Saga of Noggin the Nog, a 1959 children’s TV fantasy series.

According to John:

 The TV adaptation of Game of Thrones is impressive in its complexity, sweep and intelligence, but there is one fantasy series that will never be bettered – The Saga of Noggin the Nog.

I’m not sure I agree, but I loved learning a bit about the creators of Noggin the Nog and other cartoons “…recognized as classics of the Golden Age of kids’ TV in the UK.” Better yet, John provides a link to the beginning of the very first episode. What a hoot!

If you love classic sci-fi and fantasy, are a bit of a theatre fan or enjoy the odd piece of art, fasten your seat belt, open your mind and check out John Guy Collick, on and on I sped, into futurity… (I promise, you’re sure to learn something new!)

From a post entitled: Early Fantasy Art: the Symbolists

Related articles
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  • Behind the scenes on Game of Thrones (bbc.co.uk)
  • Comic-Con: Look who’s joining ‘Game of Thrones’ cast (mercurynews.com)

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Categories : Blogs I Love!
Tags : Art, Arts, Blogs, Classic Science Fiction, Fantasy, Game of Thrones, George R R Martin, HBO, Noggin the Nog, science fiction, Television, Theatre

Blogs I Love: The Shelf Life, by Allan Woodrow

By Lorijo Metz · Comments (5)
Thursday, July 12th, 2012

Outside
Writing
With Motivation

Welcome to a new feature on ScifiWriterMom.com called:

BLOGS I LOVE!

I’ve been trying to organize all the blogs I subscribe to so I can actually take some time during the week to read them. Which means I’ve unsubscribed from a few that, while good, probably don’t offer me anything I need to read on a weekly basis or simply aren’t entertaining (…to me, that is). That’s right, sometimes I subscribe to blogs because they entertain me. They might feature pretty or interesting pictures…or, sometimes they’re downright funny. Which brings me to The Shelf Life, written by children’s author, Allan Woodrow.

Allan describes himself as, “…the author of 3,166 books, but I’ve only written a few of them down so far.”

Why do I like “The Shelf Life”? Well, first off, Allan doesn’t post a lot, but when he does, it’s usually short, witty, and entertaining. Allan’s posts are usually good for quick laugh and often prompt me to attempt a witty reply. Recently, however, Allan wrote a post entitled, How I Write, which was not only witty, but immensely inspirational. If you’re a newbie writer, or perhaps having a bit of trouble with motivation, check it out.

The Shelf Life

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Categories : Blogs I Love!
Tags : Allan Woodrow, Art, Author, Blog, Blogging, Business, Children's author, Children's books, Comedy, Entertainment, Literature, Romance, Shelf Life, Writing

Versatile Inspiration

By Lorijo Metz · Comments (4)
Friday, May 18th, 2012

http://chicquero.com/

I’m always looking for inspiration. Sometimes I’m sniffing, feeling and listening for it too. To put it another way, I’m always trying to get a sense of what I want to write about next. For the next month or so, however, I need look no further than the contract I’ve signed for a series of educational books. Not exactly, science fiction…but writing, nonetheless. (And, oddly, fun at times.) Better yet, they’re paying me for it!

($$ + Books = Happy Writer) 

The point is, while I do have a “Next” novel project in mind, I have little time to think about it. I have even less time to think about my next blog post and wouldn’t you know it, my Twitter and Writer friend, Pauline Baird Jones, just awarded me The Versatile Blogger’s award.

Dear me… I don’t feel versatile at all right now!

So, to motivate me and to motivate you, I want to quickly share one of the most visually stimulating and inspiring websites I  follow: Chicquero.com. (A note here, not everything on this website is appropriate for children).

According the website’s creators, who were born in Brazil, Chic means “stylish or smart, as an element of art, fashion and design,” while Quero means to “like, want; will, desire; love; list”. The photos and art on their blog definitely live up to all these descriptions.

Click on the pictures below (and the one up above!) to check out a few of my favorite posts. And bloggers, be on the lookout…I’ll be awarding The Versatile Blogger’s award to a few of you quite soon!

http://chicquero.com/

http://chicquero.com/

Thanks Pauline! (P.S. I’m halfway through reading your novel, The Key, and loving it!)

Related articles
  • Versatile Blogger Award! (leajurock.wordpress.com)
  • Riding effortlessly on a large green turtle nominated for a ‘The Versatile Blogger Award’ (namasteconsultinginc.com)
  • BLOG AWARD: May 2012 (auroramorealist.wordpress.com)
  • Yes, I Can Be Versatile (tooyoungtofeelold.wordpress.com)

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Categories : Blogs I Love!, Musings
Tags : Art, award, Blog, Brazil, Chic, inspiration, Pauline, Pauline Baird Jones, Quero, The Key, twitter, Website

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    • Lorijo Metz lives with her husband and little brown dog in a hamlet just north of Chicago, IL. Though she has a degree in acting and directing, she much prefers the anonymity of the keyboard, allowing her characters to revel in the spotlight while she sits quietly sipping tea or coffee, nibbling on cookies, and dreaming up ways to complicate their lives. Lorijo is the author of the picture book Floridius Bloom and the Planet of Gloom, illustrated by Matt Phelan and published by Dial Books for Young Readers; as well as the author of over 25 nonfiction, educational books for kids, published by Powerkids Press. WHEELS is her first YA novel and first venture into indie publishing. In 2013, Lorijo will have another first as she makes her début as a lyricist on children’s singer and songwriter, Owen Duggan’s new cd, Puppy Dog Jig, for which she wrote the lyrics for the title track.
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