~PAUSE~

The time has come for me to admit to myself and all my online friends that I need to push the cyber 'Pause' button, even though doing so will halt most of my daily Web adventures.

I love this blog!  And I adore all of you, my friends who have taught me so much about a writer's journey by sharing yours.  I never want to lose touch with you!  I'm not unplugging for good, just pausing. J

Here's the thing:  It's summertime in Georgia.  My kids have been out of school for a week, and time management has become a knife juggler's act.  Daily workouts (that I sooooo need!), regular housecleaning (bleh.), trips to the neighborhood pool (yeah, life's tough...), and spending quality time with my kids (they are the best!) leaves very little time for me.


When I sneak away to the computer, I want to write.  But instead, I read blogs, update my own, Facebook my friends and family, and tweet.  Also, I'm a moderator at Writing.com, and I have responsibilities that go along with the title that include submitting a monthly newsletter and reviewing member stories and poems.  By the time I actually open my WiP document, the kids are accusing me of being 'boring' again, and would I please come down and hang out with them.


So, clearly something's gotta give.  Although this decision wrings my heart, I've decided to change my blogging goals for the summer.


Instead of using this platform to network, learn, and enjoy the awesome writing community you have all provided me, it will become my writer's journal.


About once a week, I'll update my progress, give voice to my frustrations, and simply validate my writing efforts.  I don't expect anyone to read these posts, especially since I won't be leaving comments on many other blogs.  I will read posts during writing breaks, but my presence will be like the scent of honeysuckle on a spring breeze, sweet but barely perceptible.


I hope my wonderful followers won't drop me, but if some decide to unfollow I'll understand.  So much of blogging is reciprocation; this I know and respect.


I plan to stay connected through the convenience of Android (I love you, new phone!!).  I tweet regularly, something I can do away from my computer.  If we haven't found each other on Twitter, I'm @NicoleDwrites.  I follow back! 


I'm also on Facebook: Nicole Ducleroir.  If we're not friends yet, send me a request pleeease!  I want to know how your writing is going and cheer you on.


If you'd like, leave me your twitter ID and facebook name in the comments, so I can find you.


I will miss regular blogging, but let's face it: what do I need a platform for if I'm not WRITING??  Time to put the horse back in front of the cart.  (Ick, a cliché *shudder*)  Man, can I do this?  I already miss blogging, and I haven't clicked publish yet!  Okay, deep breath.  Here it goes...

                                    

Sneaky Red Sock GIVEAWAY Winners!

The winners of The Sneaky Red Sock Giveaway are:

Monica Mansfield @ Storytelling and Me

Susanne Drazic @ Putting Words Down on Paper

Linda H. @ Lind-guistics

Whoot!!!!  Each of you have won a signed copy of Ali Murdoch's poetry collection entitled The Sneaky Red Sock.  Congrats!  I'll be in touch via email to gather your mailing 411.

Thanks for playing along, everyone!

                                    

Sneaky Red Sock GIVEAWAY!

[Don't miss the Giveaway details at the bottom of this post!!]

A couple months ago, my sister's brother-in-law contacted me about a book his colleague wrote titled The Sneaky Red Sock.

Ali Murdoch is the creative mind behind this eclectic collection of poems.  Murdoch's sense of humor permeates everything he pens, including his Amazon Author Central author blurb:

Ali Murdoch is an entrepreneur turned author, who had to rely on the business route when his sporting career was cut tragically short by a lack of any real talent. The father of three very troublesome children he lives on Long Island, New York and does his best to keep control by threatening to recite poems at night unless they go to bed. It even works some of the time!

What I loved about this book:

Murdoch's clever prose reminds me of Shel Silverstein's work.  Like Silverstein, Murdoch crafts poems with a wonderful melodic quality and canny humor.

Every poem illustrates the sharp, witty way Murdoch perceives the world around him.  This book is full of smart plays on words and observant imagery that brought a smile to my face again and again.

The comic drawings by illustrator Simon Goodway were brilliant and heightened the humor of each piece.

The website Murdoch created to promote his book is wonderful!  Check it out here --> www.sneakyredsock.com

Here's an example I loved from the book:

Committed
by Ali Murdoch, The Sneaky Red Sock, page 24

I was given a quiz, which I think I've solved
To explain the difference between Committed and Involved.
I was eating my breakfast, when the analogy fitted,
The hen was involved, but the Pig was committed.


Some Criticisms:

This book is self-published -- which I think is fantastic!!  However, a publisher may have cautioned against a couple things, such as:

The Sneaky Red Sock looks like its target audience is children.  The cover art is bright and cartoon-ish, something I would expect to see shelved in the children's book section.  And, the back cover blurb begins with, Welcome to a world where booby traps are successfully sprung, ghosts frighten teddy bears, and sneaky red socks turn everything in your washer a nice salmon color.  -- All this suggests to me that it is appropriate for children.

And in fact, many of the poems are.  But many aren't.  In the back blurb's second paragraph, Murdoch says, Misbehaving children and even grandparents' rowdy parties are all dissected with a moral scalpel...  -- I think a traditional publisher would have taken greater care to market this book to one intended audience.

Also, a publisher would have used a professional editor who would have found and fixed the mechanical issues throughout the book, starting perhaps with the punctuation typo on the back cover:  This eclectic mix of poems, cartoons and ditties brings you face to face with the US Army's most secretive of weapons, "the Bunny Blaster" and their all new "Think Tank".


Above all else, though, Murdoch's wonderful sense of humor captures your attention and keeps you turning the pages to see what ingenious and entertaining observations of life's absurdities he tackles next.  The Sneaky Red Sock truly has something for every member of the family to enjoy, though adults should pick out those their younger children will most appreciate.

I have THREE signed copies of The Sneaky Red Sock to share with you!  To add your name to the drawing I'll hold on Monday, May 23rd simply leave me a comment on this post!

Please Tweet and FaceBook!  Thanks!!