tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76781603925313915002024-02-07T01:47:53.315-06:00Monica-Marie a Work in ProgressReviews, rantings, #wordmongering, & other fun stuff! Don't be stingy with the comments I love comments! :)Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-53319320674299548722014-09-05T17:19:00.000-05:002014-09-05T17:19:13.797-05:00I'm being PUBLISHED!!!Here it is! Announcing my entrance into the Booktrope family! My YA Horror <b>Roses Are Red...Violet Is Dead </b>will be published by Booktrope. As I get more news I'll be posting and updating. Stay tuned my tribe!<br /><br /><br />#wordmongering Hope you're still mongering those words. Keep on pounding away at those keyboards and make something happen. Hopefully something really really good!<br /><br />Until later....as always be good to each other and keep #wordmongering!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-34821676446794890662014-08-28T11:52:00.001-05:002014-08-28T12:04:10.059-05:00Perceptions....what you see isn't ALWAYS what you get.It's been a while since I've posted. In my defense I was writing my new book. Roses Are Red...Violet Is Dead is about a half Native American named Violet who is being stalked.<br />
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But you see, her actual race isn't important. The ONLY reason it needs to be brought up at ALL is the mere fact that Violet's stalker has broken out many cliches he think is Native American and is using them to get her attention. "Oh, look! I know your plight. I know your culture. You want to know me." But, of course as in real life that isn't really true. Let's back this up for a moment. Violet is a typical teenager. She's snarky, worried about the future, and has a thing for caffeinated beverages. She's also typical in that her race doesn't always define her. Her friends, her activities, her sense of self are what defines her. But, I won't get into that quite yet. There's going to be more to come on the mechanics of Violet and her story. :D<br />
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Little known fact about me: My brother and I were adopted. Both of us have Native American in our background. Our adoptive parents had to sign away our rights as Native Americans to be able to adopt us. Back then I didn't know what that meant. Now, even as an adult I'm not really well versed on the whole thing. I just know that from what I've been told, I'm a part of the Blackfoot tribe. And unfortunately, I know as much about that as I would about being able to perform brain surgery, in space, on a tutu wearing hippo.<br />
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You may have been reading so far and wondering what my point is. Everything seems a tad disjointed and rambling. Here it is. Someone in the publishing industry was looking to get some stories on people of color. I'd asked if Violet and her crew were what they were looking for. The response I got? "I'm sorry, but I'm not comfortable with white people writing about Native Americans." Now....who's judging who?<br />
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With all of this hullaballoo in the news about race and how it matters, I find it odd that someone would discriminate against my book simply because I'm perceived to be all white. It feels like it should be the punchline to a bad joke. But, no. It's not.<br />
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Years and years ago I'd created a saying "perception is 9/10ths of the law". Yes, I know that in the real phrase it's possession. But bear with me here for a moment. This particular professional chose to not read my work because I was perceived to be completely white. So, perception won out. A few days ago my brother posted a little video on Facebook about the beers at a local sporting arena. If you ordered the small, you got a short stout cup. If you ordered the large you got a large tall cup. BUT...here's where everything goes awry. When someone poured one cup to another BOTH cups have the exact same amount of fluid in them. Isn't that a kicker. You order what you THINK to be a large but it turns out to have the same exact amount of beer in it as the small. This particular sporting area preyed upon your PERCEPTION. You perceive that a large should have more than a small, so you'll spend the extra $2-5 to buy the large. They're making money hand over fist. (Yeah, I'm still in a bit of WOW about that....)<br />
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And....now, the biggest moral of my story. For the most part, with me, what you see is what you get. Except when it comes to my race. My ruddy flammable complexion (read that as so white skinned you can use me to navigate movie seats from the glow emanating off of my lily white skin), my green eyes, and my (my actually natural) blonde hair make people think that I'm all white (thank you Clairol for helping me not be a monochromatic palette). Irish maybe. (Yes, I have many many freckles) But I'm more than that initial perception of me. There's Blackfoot running under the surface. In your day to day life, take a moment to look beyond your initial perception. You might find something you hadn't expected. After all, it really IS that perception is 9/10ths of the law. :D<br />
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As always, be good to each other and keep #wordmongering.Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-18705355812002564332014-05-21T23:50:00.000-05:002014-05-21T23:50:50.558-05:00Review Time!! ACID by Emma PassAs I mentioned in the post last week, I'm not one to give you the ins & outs of the book. That's for you to read & the author to show you in their work. Without further ado....my review!<br />
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This book is definitely worth a read! If you come across it in your searches for something to read, please stop & get it. You won't be sorry you did. Enjoyable to the very end! Since it's VERY rare I'll give a book a total of 5 stars I give this a 4 1/2. It's that good!<br />
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Until later! And as always write like the wind & be good to each other!!<br />
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#wordmongeringMonica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-70754667759277503952014-05-13T04:42:00.000-05:002014-05-13T04:58:56.641-05:00Review Hoopla and what I think is the reason for it.....Hey all! This post is going to be a little heavy, but I wanted to say something about it because well, I have an opinion and I feel very strongly about it.<br />
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The Horror Writers Association has petitioned Amazon to pull certain reviews. I'd seen the article on either Facebook or Twitter and nodded vehemently when I read it. Rather than insert a lot of web addresses I'll let you go about it on your own time. I'll paraphrase what's going on. They would like Amazon to take down reviews. Now, before everyone gets upset here's the ones they would like removed:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Ones that are OBVIOUSLY from someone that hasn't read the book or if they have it's only those sample pages that Amazon lets you read for a teaser.</span>--Ok, this seems PERFECTLY logical to me. The people that post reviews based on tiny snippets of a book aren't as informed as they should be. In order to be able to give people an opinion of a book, for Heaven's sake....read the thing! Whoever wrote it put a lot of effort into doing so. Trust me, writing isn't as easy as gumdrops and lollipops like some people think it is. There's blood, sweat, and tears in every word of every page.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Reviews that are focused on price rather than content.</span>--Again, perfectly logical. Just because a book is either 99 cents or is $5.99 that shouldn't have a bearing on what a reviewer thinks about the CONTENT of the book. It's the writing and the story that we want to know about, not the price. We can see the price. It's in black and white in front of us. Sure, maybe cheaper books have worse content and more expensive books have better content. Well, if you've ever been shopping, you know that there are some generics out there that are just as good as the name brand. Unless you're a total brand snob, this shouldn't be the focus of a review of a book. A book review serves to tell people whether or not they enjoyed the author's work. Not whether or not they enjoyed the price they paid for it. Great thing about the society we live in, if you don't like the price of something you either shop around for a cheaper one or you simply don't buy it. We have those wonderful choices right there at our fingertips, even more so if you're buying off of Amazon in the first place.<br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Reviews that have negative PERSONAL remarks about the author.</span>--This is one that seriously chaps my hide. We're all SUPPOSED to be grown ups here....usually (yeah, there are teen buyers. HECK I'm hoping that teens buy, I'm targeting their age bracket exclusively). When you're pretty much resorting to play ground antics to get your point across, it's the online equivalent of calling someone a "doodie head". Seriously, grow up and realize that just because you didn't like something doesn't mean that the person that created this something is the worst person on the planet. Another nice thing about the country that we live in? We have so much diversity. What's even better is that publishing in general is ridiculously subjective. But what isn't? Not everyone likes lychee fruit and personally I love the stuff. Can't get enough of that ONE tropical fruit that I'm not allergic to. Conversely, don't give me Brussels sprouts, I do NOT like them. I've tried them in every way you can imagine and no matter what, I still don't like them. Now, Husband thinks lychees are "Meh" but he swears up and down his grandmother's recipe for Brussels sprouts is amazing and will blow my socks off. A perfect example of how everything is not for everyone. Personally, I love that. That means more lychee for me. Hee hee.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">And last....but not least....my personal rant. The ONE thing that I've always stood by and frustrates me to no end......*drum roll please*</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;">Reviews that include spoilers.</span> -- I know that there are a LOT of reviewers out there that think it's necessary to give us the play by play, blow by blow account of what happened in the book. Whenever I see it though, I hear a unicorn fart in the woods. Why would someone buy a book if all they have to do is read the reviews and know what happens? In my opinion (yes, MY opinion, I own it 100%) the author is the only one that can tell their story. They're the only one that can do it justice. Why am I going to attempt to do something that's already been done before I got there? Call me crazy or even lazy, but I don't want to rewrite this person's novel. They've already done a bang up job of that all by themselves. When I leave a review, I let people know what I thought about the book, but I won't ever....yes I said ever....tell everyone what happens in the book. Especially the ending. In my mind that's the equivalent of running up to some random stranger standing in line at a thriller or mystery movie and saying to them "It was the butler who did it! Aren't you glad you ran into me so I could tell you the ending?" You don't do that! (Ok, maybe there are some people that do it. But seriously? That's the rudest thing ever. Stop it.)<br />
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We live in a society where the comfort of our own laptops, iPads, tablets, phones, and desktops offer us that cushy buffer to feel safe enough to take an excursion into the big bad world. Albeit a cyber world, but a big bad world nonetheless. The safety of where ever we're sitting makes us feel like big brave lions that can take on anything and roar in the face of danger. The problem is, with this courage also comes a lack of manners and common courtesy. We forget to say "please" or "thank you". We forget that on the other end of that screen name/user name/handle is an actual living breathing human that has feelings and can be hurt. After all, interfacing with glass and plastic doesn't make it feel like it's personal. Not like we do when we're face to face with someone and can see their eyes, see the light go out when we've just stabbed them in the proverbial heart. To see them genuinely smile or actually LOL. With our lack of feedback to our actions we've become bolder, crasser, meaner, and downright bullying at times. No, I'm not saying that EVERYONE on the internet is in this category, but there sure do seem to be a lot, am I right? Every day I see someone that's been adversely impacted by someone else's rude, mean, and bullying behavior online. In fact, one of the things that brought about the article that I mentioned above was a controversy on Good Reads surrounding a new author that had her book panned long before it came out. The shelves they were putting her book on weren't something that anyone in regular society would say out loud. Maybe in private behind closed doors, but not for everyone to hear.<br />
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It's funny that because a lot of this behavior happens behind closed doors, we forget that we're actually in public. Facebook is a community. On Facebook you "friend people" you "like" posts or pictures. On Twitter you "follow" people and you can "favorite" or "retweet" someone's tweet. These are all social things. If we were in person in a conversation someone might say "Oh Moni! I like that!" The same as they can on Facebook. Someone from that conversation can say "Oh, my mom said the other day that your hair looks fabulous." Ok, that was just a retweet. Ultimately, we've forgotten that these technical and digital age things came out of actual things that people have done since the dawn of the spoken or written language. Maybe it's time that we rediscover face to face chats (and no, I'm not talking video chatting on your phone, although I guess in a pinch....that might work). Maybe take some of what you realized while talking to a warm, live, breathing human being and use it when you're posting that next kitty photo to Twitter or Facebook. Be HUMAN on the internet. Be the person that you are in real life with the people that you talk to on the internet. You'd be surprised at how much more caring and less rude you could be.<br />
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For those that are reading this and saying "But, Moni! I'm me all the time whether it's on the net or in person." I understand that. I'm just putting out this gentle reminder. It would be nice to have cyber bullying down to a minimum. Bullying in any setting to me is the equivalent of slaughtering that farting unicorn I mentioned before.<br />
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As always, be good to each other and write like the wind!!<br />
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<span style="color: #351c75;">#wordmongering</span><br />
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<br />Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-45454369928132120652014-05-11T20:02:00.000-05:002014-05-11T20:12:42.794-05:00Mother's Day (Or ANTI-Mother's Day that is...)For most of us, Mother's Day is an awesome day. We're either celebrating our mothers or being celebrated as mothers. This is wonderful & I can't tell you how happy I am for you.<br />
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For me this is a mixed bag. I am a mother, but my children don't live with me. They also don't do anything for me on Mother's Day. I'm all right with this. I check up on them often & I know that they are all happy & healthy. It's what I truly want for them. Then there's celebrating MY mom. Hmmmm....that's another can of worms. I have my adoptive mother, her & I don't get along very well. My biological mother & I have met, but again there's a lot going on there too.<br />
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So this post is for those that feel disenfranchised by the whole "Mother's Day" concept.<br />
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Some of us have bad feelings on this day because we think of all the bad things that happened to us at our mother's hands. Not all mom's are the June Cleavers that we've been shown to be the "ideal" mom. This is sad but true. As much as I would LOVE to have everyone in the world have that wonderful mother that nurtures them, loves them unconditionally, & never hurts them, it isn't ever going to happen. Then there are the mothers that won't ever get the cards, phone calls, brunches, breakfast in bed, or even an acknowledgement of their motherhood status.<br />
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Yes, Mother's Day may be an awesome day for many, but not all. Take a moment of your time to remember those that won't be enjoying today. Remember...perception is 9/10ths of the law!<br />
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As always, be good to each other...& write like the wind!<br />
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#wordmongeringMonica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-40906081644461147752013-12-20T10:10:00.001-06:002013-12-20T10:10:30.898-06:00Working seriously hard these days.I've been such a bad bad blogger & I truly apologize to you. Of course we know that NaNoWriMo was last month. Did you win?? I did. My first year doing so. While some people may be ecstatic with this prospect, me....not so much. Not because I feel I didn't accomplish anything, because I <i>did...</i>it's because now the <i>HARD</i> part happens. The editing.<br />
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There are many of my writerly friends that relish the thought of going in and tweaking their story until it's just right. I on the other hand look forward to it like a root canal while having my bone marrow biopsied at the same time. The creative portion of the programming I have down pat. I can create until the cows come home. Once I hit the editing portion of the programming, that's where the gears grind to a very painful halt. I'm not sure if it's the pressure that's behind editing, or if it's simply my own fears eating me up from the inside out. I know that once I'm done editing I'll have <i>IT,</i> a finished manuscript. Something I can shop around, see if anyone would like to send my precious baby out into the real world. Parents of college aged kids that are reading this are nodding their heads. On the one hand we want to <i>shove</i> our babies out & force them to live their lives on their own terms. On the other hand, we're scared to death they won't get it right. That's how I feel about my MS babies. Only, instead of me being scared to death my baby won't live their life right, I'm scared that people might poke and prod my baby. Make my baby feel like the unwanted child.<br />
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I'm not going to pretend I know how to overcome this fear, because I don't. Once in a while I gather just enough courage to shove as hard as I can (my eyes squeezed tightly shut the entire time) & hope that someone will love my baby as much as I do. That's the worst part isn't it? You send your baby out & you have <i>no</i> control over what happens next. It's the best and worst feeling ever.<br />
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So, having given birth to this post, I'm off to bed. My babies will need me when I wake up & I want to be fresh to confront them.<br />
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As always my #wordmongering & writerly friends.....be good to each other & write like the wind!<br />
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<br />Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-25373149824791215642013-08-16T05:44:00.001-05:002013-12-20T09:31:22.761-06:00Neighbors and Writing...Today I'm going to talk about neighbors. For the most part we all have them. Some are better than others. Lately I feel like my husband and I have been at war with one of ours.<br />
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There are just some people that should move to the remotest location they can find and stay there. The man that lives directly behind us is one of those people. We live in a townhouse subdivision. When we moved in we thought it was the answers to all of our prayers. A nice three bedroom with an upstairs and a downstairs. What could possibly beat that? My husband has his room to do photography, graphic arts, and sound mixing. I have my room to write, read, and quilt in. Win win! We soon found out that paradise had a price. Ours is Douchey Neighbor.<br />
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Douchey Neighbor doesn't like to follow the Home Association rules. When he's called out on it he screams and yells at the person pointing out his offending behavior and blames them for interfering in <i>his</i> life! I think that it's safe to say that we all know someone like Douchey Neighbor. The funniest part of this? Douchey Neighbor has a really nice wife! Go figure!<br />
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Now, this being a writing blog and all I realized that there's kind of a moral to my experience with Douchey Neighbor. Writers bare their very souls to the world. Whether you're writing for a magazine, a blog, a book, or for yourself you are putting your thoughts out there. Our writing is a little piece of us. Let's face it, if people don't appreciate our efforts we tend to bristle. It's only natural, if someone walked up to your baby on the playground and cursed them out you'd have something to say about it. More than likely it would be a lot of somethings to say about it.<br />
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When my husband and I first moved in Douchey Neighbor didn't appreciate being told he couldn't park in front of our garage. For some reason it offended him that we wanted to park in a space that belonged to us. Apparently we hindered him on a personal level. After a lot of blustering he moved his vehicle. We thought that was the end of it, nope...we were very wrong. After a couple more times of asking him nicely to move his vehicle we finally had to lay it on the line, move it or lose it. Yep, we told him we'd call a tow truck. Of course we needed to suffer the wrath of Douchey Neighbor for that statement. On the bright side? We no longer have a need to ask Douchey Neighbor to move his vehicle.<br />
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Usually in situations like the one above it's always best to take the high road and not bait them. That's the best way. Ok, my husband is the one that's constantly telling me this. But it highlights the point of this post. I've perused the GoodReads site, checked out Amazon (like every other author I know), and looked into Barnes and Noble. I've checked out the reviews of some of my favorite authors and I can say that usually their reviews are glowing. In the past I've seen Twitter rants from people frustrated because an author didn't take the high road when it came to their babies. Yes, I like many other people just <i>had</i> to click the link and see what the hullabaloo was all about. The drama, while entertaining, sickened me a little. This business is extremely subjective. While I don't enjoy much in the way of Sci Fi, my father in law loves every last book he can get his mitts on. My father in law on the other hand, is not very impressed with Young Adult.<br />
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With the amount of genres and authors out there I'm having a hard time understanding why some people feel the <i>need</i> to be rude to those that don't agree with them. Sure, Jane Doe might not have liked your book but does that mean that Jane Doe is a bad person? In the age of instant digital reviews it's way too easy to get sucked down the rabbit hole and ultimately get into a word war with someone over their opinion. Us as authors need to take the high ground.<br />
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Conversely, I also have a hard time understanding why a reader would find it necessary to utilize their computer to tear someone else apart word by word. Hopefully there will come a time somewhere in the future that all Douchey Neighbors will be eliminated, until then I hope that authors and readers can come to some sort of a truce.<br />
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There is enough room in this world for everyone's opinion and that means that you are entitled to yours as well. You know how that saying goes....I won't be so crude as to repeat it.<br />
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Until next time my fair readers! Be good to each other and write like the wind!!<br />
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<br />Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-25373758574641934022013-08-09T09:04:00.001-05:002013-08-09T09:04:43.655-05:00Bear with me....I'm a work in progress ALWAYS!Things have been on the VERY crazy side here in the V household. Not only did I get married last September, but I also had a massive renovation project going on my in-law's house to contend with. Once the majority of that came and went my husband got a job in Nevada. You guessed it, we moved.<br />
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Things here in Nevada aren't as bad as I thought they would be. You know how sometimes when you move to a new city (especially if you've had to rush the move as Husband and I did) you fear that everything will be poop and you can't find an upside to it? Yep, I was there. My fears were unfounded though.<br />
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My husband settled into his new job quite quickly and he's very happy with his job. Gracie has settled in with some fits and starts (Read that as we had MANY accidents in the house. Beagles can be QUITE stubborn at times.) and now she's acting like she's always been here. As for me? Well, things couldn't have worked out better. In the past I've never had a space that was just for me and my writing. That's all changed now that we've moved here. I have what is now known in the V household as "Moni's Writerly Lair". A HUGE purple wall, my nice comfy purple disc chair, and a desk all set up with writing supplies. Oh, and I can't forget the two large book shelves to hold all of mine and husband's favorite books. Yes, methinks I will like it here.<br />
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On the productivity note, I'll do my darndest to get back here to update a bit more often, even if it's just to ramble about the weather or whatnot. Who knows what I'll be in the mood for? I'm also working on being a lot more productive on the writing front now that things are on the slow down. I can't tell you how excited I am about this slow down. It means that I'll be able to actually concentrate on working.<br />
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Until next post! Be good to each other my friends and keep on writing!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-29164593364746302892012-10-17T23:52:00.000-05:002012-10-17T23:52:08.336-05:00#wordmongering Now has a forum!!Sorry about not posting much in the past weeks and months. Hopefully you will all forgive me when you realize that it was for a <i>reallllllly</i> good reason. On September 21st I got <i>MARRIED</i>! So, while I was away from blogging I was planning how to meld my life with someone else's. Not an easy task, but one that I've <i>somehow</i> managed to pull off! (Still not sure how I've done it, but we'll just see....as they say, the proof is in the pudding. For whatever <i>that</i> means! LOL)<br />
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In other unrelated news, down to what this post is <i>REALLY</i> about! As of this morning #wordmongering now has a forum. If you'd like to take a look at this wonderful new community created to coordinate Mongering efforts you can go here: http://www.wordmongering.createaforum.com If there's anything that you'd like to see there, drop me a line, I'll be happy to oblige. After all, this community is specifically for Mongerers and their efforts to keep on Mongering!<br />
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So far we've gathered six other members (not including me of course) and it's got posts cropping up on their message boards. I've put in a section for pieces parts of WIP's this way if you'd like to get critiqued on a WIP while you're in the process of writing it, you can get feedback quickly. In that vein we've also got a section so that people of Mongering can offer to be a Critique Partner for others. If you're looking to be one, or you'd like to get one, this would be the place to post about it. Plus, with NaNo coming up I'm sure that there will be quite a few people in need of some #wordmongering so there's even a board for that. Thanks to all of my wonderful Tweeple for pointing that out to me as the site was being put up. Plus, for those times when there isn't NaNo (we're addicted and we can't help it) there's a board for other writing challenges. Please feel free to share any that you're a part of so that others may sign up too. There's strength in numbers. Who says that writing has to be a solitary endeavor? Personally, I think that the writing community at large has proven that we love to get together to do our creating, even if that means over the interwebs! :)<br />
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What was the inspiration for all of this you might ask? Well, one of the wonderful #wordmongering people were mentioning in the #wordmongering feed on Twitter that they're always left without many Mongerers since they're currently residing in China. Unfortunately, that means that she's nearly an entire day ahead of the majority of the #wordmongering crew. Since I'm a HUGE supporter of ALL writers being able to get their words down, I talked with those on the Twitter feed and the suggestion came up that we start a forum. One, to help us all track progress, and two to be able to better coordinate with each other to be online at a certain time so we all get a chance to Monger! With their help I was able to start this forum and it's free for all to join. The free part was VERY important to me, I want #wordmongering to stay as free as it is on Twitter. It shouldn't have to cost any of our members to utilize. I'm happy to say that I've succeeded in my goal of doing just that.<br />
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Hopefully I'll see you posting on the forum and get to know you all better. The sense of community is the best part of #wordmongering and I would like to keep fostering this sentiment for as long as possible. Especially with Mongering coming into it's SECOND YEAR! You read that right, #wordmongering will be TWO years old in February. *Toss the sparkly purple confetti* I can't guarantee that there will be anything super special planned for that month, but I'll be racking my brain as hard as I can to see what I can do. We have to mark the occasion in some way, don't we?<br />
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Until I see you again you wonderful people. In the meantime my newly made husband is asking for a little help around the house. Time to put on my wife hat and put my writerly hat on the shelf. For a little while anyway!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-20566293768667157242012-06-06T19:53:00.002-05:002012-06-06T20:22:21.422-05:00It's JUNE! You know what THAT means? #JuNoWriMo & #CampNaNoWriMo!Hey all! I know it's been a while. But now I have someone that will make sure that I'm blogging on a more regular basis. Isn't it nice to have someone keeping your schedule for you when you're one of those "creative scatter brained types"? "I" think it is!<br />
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So lately at #wordmongering we've been teaming up with the #JuNoWriMo people and the #CampNaNoWriMo people to get word sprints done as often as possible! It's been incredible! There has been awesome word counts and productivity abound! At this time I'm also including myself in on the productivity since I've gotten in 29,900 words since the first of June! Exciting times! If you are part of the JuNoWriMo team or the CampNaNoWriMo team you're more than welcome to come and hang out with the Mongerers! Especially since a good majority of the Mongerers are doing either event or even both at the same time. We'll be here in August for that push as well....and of course we can't forget November when NaNoWriMo is back in full swing! I can't tell you how ecstatic it makes me to see people posting positivity in the #wordmongering feed. Each day I check it and everyone is making good progress. Daily goals are being met left and right. It's simply amazing to me! Awe inspiring even, because you are all doing this yourselves! We're simply here as a support base to spur you on to keep on writing. I can't wait to see how many of these challengers have completed works when this is all done. I myself have pledged to have my book done before my 40th birthday which is coming up this June 16th. As much as I LOVE writing, I want to be out kicking my heels up on that day. You can't blame me can you? It IS a Saturday after all! LOL<br />
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I have been reading quite a few great books lately! I told you I would tell you all about them later....well....now it's later! First I read Elemental Magic by Angela Wallace. It was such a cute read! I started the book & it just drove me along. If you have a chance, I recommend you pick it up! You can see my review on GoodReads. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13572214-elemental-magic">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13572214-elemental-magic</a> [Please note, when I review a book I'd MUCH rather let you see that I either enjoyed or didn't enjoy (whatever the case may be...in this case I DID enjoy it) than to tell you what the book is about. Personally I think that giving a detailed account of the book's contents is unfair to the reader since the author is much better at telling their story than I am.] I also read Helens of Troy by Janine McCaw. Yet another book I throughly enjoyed. You can read my review on GoodReads for this book as well. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13480659-helens-of-troy">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13480659-helens-of-troy</a> Then there was also Slide by Jill Hathaway I was really excited to read this book since I've known Jill since Absolute Write Water Cooler and I'd been seeing her post a bit here and there about her writing this book. When it came out I think that it was a SQUEE heard 'round the world! I have also posted a review of that book on GoodReads. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9542582-slide">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9542582-slide</a> Also in my pile that I read was Goliath Gets Up A Novel by Starbuck O'Dwyer That was a very surprising read! I have my review posted there on GoodReads for that one as well! <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13412274-goliath-gets-up">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13412274-goliath-gets-up</a> Last but not least was Lucky Bastard by S.G. Browne I liked the story immensely because of it's San Francisco setting, but that wasn't the only thing! LOL My review is there on GoodReads for that one too! <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259637-lucky-bastard">http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13259637-lucky-bastard</a> So if you get a chance check out any of the books that I have read. I can honestly say that there wasn't one in this list that I didn't like. Goliath Gets Up was the most surprising to me, I was expecting it to be a down and out tale and it turned out to be quite funny! <br />
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Well....until next Wednesday my blog people! Don't forget to tune in to our broadcast on <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio/parayournormal">www.blogtalkradio/parayournormal</a> to hear who we're talking about. The broadcasts air at 3:30pm PST. In the past couple of months I have become the Assistant Coordinator to the ParaYourNormal group, that's partially why I haven't been here as much as I was before. Also, doesn't life just have an ugly little habit of getting in the way? Hopefully things will slow down enough to be able to get into a regular swing again!! Until later!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-15991658043774726322012-03-19T18:52:00.000-05:002012-03-19T18:52:13.061-05:00Hey all! Been sooooper busy...busier than usual!!Well....I've gotten a chance to win a couple of books. I'll put my thoughts about them on my blog when I'm done...so stay tuned! <br />
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@BookaliciousPam is having a kick ass deal going on right now on HER blog. You should go check it out! It's a twofer! Support her fave indie bookstore & she'll give you a chance to send your query to her to get your MS critiqued by her! You know she's now like an assistant agent & stuff right?? This is a great offer & I would love to see you take advantage of it while you can! Go here <a href="http://bookalicio.us/2012/03/support-an-indie-query-contest/">http://bookalicio.us/2012/03/support-an-indie-query-contest/</a> read all about it & fire away! The reason I call it a "twofer" is because not only are you supporting a great independant book seller...you're getting your work checked out as well. It's a total win/win! Who could resist that even for a moment?? I know that "I" can't...which is why I've been telling everyone that I can about this! (Don't worry...my blog will still be here if you want to go check it out & come back.)<br />
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As far as #wordmongering and #editmongering news is concerned....#wordmongering had an AWESOME day on Sunday! Some of my great and loyal Mongerers did a Mongering Fest on Sunday! There were word counts galore!! If you still haven't had a chance to check it out I highly recommend it! Not only will you meet some awesomesauce supportive authors, you might have fun & get something done too! How's that not amazeballs? We're still gathering more momentum for Mongering, so if you'd like more of your friends to stop on by, tell them about it! If they have any questions don't hesitate to send them my way! I love answering Mongering questions!<br />
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OK! Now I'm back to my sooper busy & hectic lifestyle that's already in progress, but I wanted to check in and wave at everyone! Hope you have a bookfilled, productivityfilled, and otherwise made of awesome day!!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-84323744157377955352012-03-04T21:41:00.002-06:002012-03-05T01:34:48.521-06:00#wordmongering & #editmongering A Year in Productivity!!For those of you that have been following me on Twitter, you know that I'm the most vocal voice behind the hashtags #wordmongering & #editmongering. We're now officially a year old as of last month!! This in and of itself is exciting...but the most exciting part is that NONE of it's success could be done without YOU the faithful writers! So pat yourselves on the backs and have some kind of celebratory snack or something! This year we've seen LOTS in the way of word counts. I'm ecstatic about this!<br />
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I know that the hardest part of writing is getting your tushie in the seat to actually WRITE. I know...I know...it's a no brainer...right? Well, it might SEEM like that, but it's not. How many times do you catch yourself getting ready to sit down and write and see the dishes in the sink? "Oh, I'll just do those and THEN go write." Which of course once that's done then there's the phone ringing....or emails to check...or Twitter to check....or any number of other little distractions that stop actual productivity and halt your project right where it is. That's where #wordmongering and #editmongering come in. We are all there to do the same thing. Granted, we're all writing different stories, different genres, different, different, different! Having said that we all have the same goals...to get our stories onto the screen, page, or other medium. Now enters Twitter to the rescue! We go to our favorite hashtags to keep up our productivity. Not to toot my own horn, but it's kinda genius to give us a small attainable time to work within. We ALL have at least a half hiour during some time of the day that we can sit down and write. Enter #wordmongering! All that's expected there is a half hour of your time, a word count post utilizing the hashtag, and positivity. We can DO that can't we? Of course we can! And we have! <br />
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The response to #wordmongering alone has been awesomesauce to say the very least! Thanks to all the writers participation Twitter is buzzing with "Mongering Fever". People are recommending it to their writerly friends and I see new Mongerers show up all the time. That is great! I guess it all comes down to the fact that when something works for you, it just works. The Mongering feeds have been a little quiet as of late, but I'm sure that it's just everyone's lives getting in the way and I completely and totally understand that. My blog itself is a testiment to that. Hopefully I'll see you again in the Mongering feeds soon! Happy Mongering and writing My Mongerers!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-22606345535642132452012-03-03T22:47:00.000-06:002012-03-03T22:47:56.838-06:00On the blog again!! *sang to the tune of On the Road Again*Hey all! Sorry I've been so remiss in getting back here. I feel like such a BAD hostess and I'm incredibly sorry.<br />
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Yes....life did get in the way for a while, but things have significantly calmed down and you'll be seeing me so much more often.<br />
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EXCITING news!! #wordmongering and #editmongering are now ONE year old!!! Squeeeeeeeee!! Thanks to all of you Mongerers out there that have been Mongering with us. Without you plugging in the hashtags and cheering (#cheermongering) each other on...this wouldn't have happened. Pat yourselves on the back. I'm racking my brains right now to come up with something appropriate to do for a "belated birthday party" for my two beloved hashtags. If you have any suggestions, by all means...let me know! After all, these are your hashtags too!<br />
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In quasi-related news I'm preparing my Ava to be e-published soon. Have someone working on a gorgeous cover, been editing the content within an inch of it's life. Hopefully I can get this puppy out of my computer and into everyone's hands SOON!! My next blog post will be a synopsis of Ava. Yay!<br />
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Until I see you again Mongerers and Moni Blog Goers!!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-61178049672406327012011-09-06T20:14:00.000-05:002011-09-06T20:14:31.180-05:00Hey all!Just popping my head in again. Been VERY busy getting better since four days after I got to San Francisco I broke my left wrist & ring finger. So I'm now finally able to type again both handed even though it sorta is painful....but at this point I'm not caring about that little bit of pain because typing with one hand is more of a pain than typing two handed is! LOL<br />
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Still have Hush to give away.....I haven't forgotten about that.....the move just blindsided me too much to be able to get enough responses to really make it a decent giveaway. Those that have entered to win still have enteries....I haven't forgotten about y'all. <br />
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Until later my literary pals!!<br />
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Oh, yes.....wanted to mention that my friend Gretchen McNeil's book has come out & it looks ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! You should support her and check it out! The cover alone is enough of a reason to buy it!! ;)Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-15183136689330611992011-06-10T03:14:00.001-05:002011-06-10T03:16:27.654-05:00GIVEAWAY time!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosxyuoxM3OxvqDkpKaFYiJsa1LQWtQokUM_WBkT_O6R4giC16rwwAzKkLSGVhHZRnhlfWxJ_uC_AHeuCZlUnC6yyZRKtzWIwdYm8sn50fu2Nsvl7thd6CAeuvt00vIJ67DCf_gi_2VxY/s1600/Hush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosxyuoxM3OxvqDkpKaFYiJsa1LQWtQokUM_WBkT_O6R4giC16rwwAzKkLSGVhHZRnhlfWxJ_uC_AHeuCZlUnC6yyZRKtzWIwdYm8sn50fu2Nsvl7thd6CAeuvt00vIJ67DCf_gi_2VxY/s1600/Hush.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
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So...as you can see below, HUSH was the hands down winner! So....here's the 'portant part! The rules:<br />
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1) Be a follower of my blog <br />
2) Leave me a comment +1<br />
3) Tweet this contest +2 (leave me the link please)<br />
4) Leave me an email to reach you...unless you don't WANNNNNT the book! <br />
5) Blog about this contest +3 (leave me a link please)<br />
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Rules 2, 3, & 5 are optional but rules 1 & 4 are mandatory. (Gotta keep some semblance of order around here!) The little pluses after some of the rules are the amount of extra entries you get for doing these things! So comment away!<br />
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Next Friday I will put all your entries in a hat & choose the winner! Easy as that. Looking forward to all of your comments! Mongerers, this is all because of your awesome efforts Mongering & spreading the Mongering word! Thank you for everything you do.Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-40938972236730120382011-06-10T02:55:00.001-05:002011-06-10T03:06:01.271-05:00Annnnnnnnd the winner is!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21CaYc0d88NsOAkbGkgzEvO092xGQBnLl3OBkLBE6vzmQJy7Be2Ldz376otPplgPZ2hFxW9C29s5CBtQoEpUSqM4pjmZHKtgZBAmozJ69xfBgMm498thj_ZyfFMBoZphVCcXRalAIsHs/s1600/Hush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg21CaYc0d88NsOAkbGkgzEvO092xGQBnLl3OBkLBE6vzmQJy7Be2Ldz376otPplgPZ2hFxW9C29s5CBtQoEpUSqM4pjmZHKtgZBAmozJ69xfBgMm498thj_ZyfFMBoZphVCcXRalAIsHs/s1600/Hush.jpg" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
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It seems that overwhelmingly y'all want HUSH by Cherry Adair!! So......starting tomorrow I'm going to start taking entries to win this awesome book! WOO HOO! The masses have spoken and I am responding! Thank you for the great turn out Mongerers & friends! This couldn't have been possible without you! Be on the lookout, I'll be creating the post to give away my people's choice!!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-88589925093770080682011-06-03T11:10:00.003-05:002011-06-03T11:30:41.745-05:00I know I haven't had a lot of "bells & whistles" but read this & reserve your thoughts.Ok! I know that I've been all about the Mongering lately...anyone who has seen my new Twitter avatar & have even looked at this page can instantly see that.<br />
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Now I've got ONE guest blog under my belt...if you would like to read it the web page is here:<br />
<a href="http://christicorbett.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/guest-host-meet-the-creator-of-wordmongering/">http://christicorbett.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/guest-host-meet-the-creator-of-wordmongering/</a><br />
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Now Sonia G Medeiros is seriously thinking about interviewing me for HER blog. This is an exciting time for me!<br />
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So...without further ado...I will announce my first bell! I'm SERIOUSLY going to do a giveaway in honor of how GREAT #wordmongering is going. I have TWO books that I can give....so vote as to which book I give this time you have two to choose from...but THIS giveaway will only be ONE book...so when I tally up all the votes I will do a giveaway!<br />
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Your choices: HUSH by Cherry Adair<br />
The Fallen Demon by Kristina Douglas<br />
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Right now all you do is vote for which I should give away! Next Friday I will tally up the votes & then announce the giveaway! That's it!! Let the voting begin!!! In order to vote just be a follower of my blog! That's it...I won't expect you to jump through flaming hoops....yet....hee hee<br />
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Unfortunately the giveaway is only going to be for US people...since I don't have international money to be able to send it out! (sorry Int'l people hopefully soon I can include you!)Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-74736572551878795472011-06-02T11:15:00.000-05:002011-06-02T11:15:40.173-05:00Annnnd #wordmongering & #editmongering logos go LIVE today!!I SWEAR this is my last post for today!<br />
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THIS is big news for us at the Mongering crew because we have gone live with our dual logos! If you'd like to get the full badges you can visit our official WIX site here: <a href="http://www.wix.com/notveryalice/wordmongering#!bbb">http://www.wix.com/notveryalice/wordmongering#!bbb</a><br />
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With a coordinated effort between @notveryalice, MHowalt, and I we have come up with the most beautiful Mongering logos. Now, with that being said what I REALLY mean is that MHowalt designed them and @notveryalice and I had input into the design process...mostly color choices and such since the idea that M had was just too gorgeous to deny. Here I will share the basics....but if you want the "full Monty" the site I posted up there is your best bet!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1XzqJ7U4ZSp5TG3ExL483G0uEfDuYsfJSfsSpAgysKkS_Qi7TRLQBOmnqO8kbQ-l16enNaQOLqQfXIkWTw5DfT9vsBrovJ-GO6mEIEn3-xzwyGgyKl9Yog-25eaD-SaX-t-J6bsAbSI/s1600/wordmongeringlogo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1XzqJ7U4ZSp5TG3ExL483G0uEfDuYsfJSfsSpAgysKkS_Qi7TRLQBOmnqO8kbQ-l16enNaQOLqQfXIkWTw5DfT9vsBrovJ-GO6mEIEn3-xzwyGgyKl9Yog-25eaD-SaX-t-J6bsAbSI/s320/wordmongeringlogo2.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43vG_X0yO0GanU2rzA0bk7h1w69FB6z3G1szV_3mIJxXZX-p91PIRl0Xii1MRL-patM0l2aUwYG89FPCzdZCdlkK5LAKwSYmoAOeq4ydjIuGP8_T0On_rlDqsCOarvDNOLbdSxpo8Mx8/s1600/editmongeringlogo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43vG_X0yO0GanU2rzA0bk7h1w69FB6z3G1szV_3mIJxXZX-p91PIRl0Xii1MRL-patM0l2aUwYG89FPCzdZCdlkK5LAKwSYmoAOeq4ydjIuGP8_T0On_rlDqsCOarvDNOLbdSxpo8Mx8/s320/editmongeringlogo2.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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There they are in all their colorful glory and I'm VERY proud to display them on my blog. Thank you to ALL of you because without you Mongering wouldn't be as much fun or even possible! Pat yourselves on the backs for jobs well done and words on the pages! WOO HOOO!! Enjoy and I'll see ya Mongering!!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-16158924223208357922011-06-02T10:28:00.001-05:002011-06-09T19:49:14.759-05:00I have a SPECIAL Mongering award for some people out there!You can attach them to your blog...or just save them for your desk top (which is what "I" have on MINE right now ;) !)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgYebKwpcSlcjZ_pExygPIIko2Rq5mX27pBRTSlWCVAG-QesihVZZpTTr1XloGF3lOmnk1cpqoUiqdQ8DtyTU8ttbGHX-1uNdt2bv_V4-KJmc4uszMVEAgFzRnEmHbdy-KB-8ova8OB0/s1600/wordmongeringlogov2small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgYebKwpcSlcjZ_pExygPIIko2Rq5mX27pBRTSlWCVAG-QesihVZZpTTr1XloGF3lOmnk1cpqoUiqdQ8DtyTU8ttbGHX-1uNdt2bv_V4-KJmc4uszMVEAgFzRnEmHbdy-KB-8ova8OB0/s320/wordmongeringlogov2small.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Since the mug is for edits & the bulb is for word this award is for those tireless people that do BOTH! Thank you for your support and know that I'm extremely proud of your progress that I've been seeing in my TweetDeck! Without futher ado......HERE'S my picks for May!! YAYAYAYAY!<br />
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KendraKilbourn<br />
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BethFishReads<br />
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SoniaGMedeiros<br />
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Trish_Loye<br />
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LiteraryGrrrl<br />
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AnnaLiterally<br />
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ChristiCorbett<br />
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SuzanButler<br />
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JustJeanette<br />
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TeenyTen<br />
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SaraLeggz<br />
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g d cribbs<br />
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WaterRaven<br />
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AnnieSoulFire<br />
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Ava_Jae<br />
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KerrySchafer<br />
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Because of you FINE WONDERFUL folks both Mongerings have been an AWESOME success!! Enjoy the wonderful handiwork of MHowalt and her beautiful badges and logos for Mongering.Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-48125791943861623312011-06-02T09:59:00.000-05:002011-06-02T09:59:56.034-05:00Blog pages as promised!MHowalt-- <a href="http://howalt.wordpress.com/">http://howalt.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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@notveryalice-- <a href="http://maybeandthewolf.wordpress.com/">http://maybeandthewolf.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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MyshelfAndI-- <a href="http://www.memyshelfandi.com/">http://www.memyshelfandi.com/</a><br />
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Ava_Jae-- <a href="http://avajae.blogspot.com/">http://avajae.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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Jessica Lei-- <a href="http://metahypnosis.blogspot.com/">http://metahypnosis.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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Kim McCormack-- <a href="http://kimcormack.com/">http://kimcormack.com/</a><br />
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Leigh Fallon-- <a href="http://www.leighfallon.com/">http://www.leighfallon.com/</a><br />
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InLuvWithBooks-- <a href="http://ibetuthinkthisblogisaboutyou.blogspot.com/">http://ibetuthinkthisblogisaboutyou.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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Author Tiffany-- <a href="http://authortiffany.wordpress.com/">http://authortiffany.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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JenBigHeart-- <a href="http://jenbigheart.blogspot.com/">http://jenbigheart.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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BethFishReads-- <a href="http://www.bethfishreads.com/">http://www.bethfishreads.com/</a><br />
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Helene Boudreau-- <a href="http://www.heleneboudreau.com/">http://www.heleneboudreau.com/</a><br />
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TheFourPartLand-- <a href="http://www.thefourpartland.com/">http://www.thefourpartland.com/</a><br />
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ErinBrambilla-- <a href="http://www.erinbrambilla.com/">http://www.erinbrambilla.com/</a><br />
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DanniM86-- <a href="http://epicrobotdanni.blogspot.com/">http://epicrobotdanni.blogspot.com/</a><br />
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There ya have it! So click away at all of these wonderful blogs! There WILL be more postings....but this time I'll be handing out Mongering badges! Think y'all can handle it? (hee hee)Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-48399059673723797332011-06-02T09:42:00.000-05:002011-06-02T09:42:18.006-05:00So, Wordmongering has gathered me another award!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdPoHePJnR_cyz8hafVL2bsEaDPPObtOqODTdd4yypeXKFFyxw6YRQqy47lVECQg0Q9sO_dNs9wIZUZIw80p1JalPaLfNeHVCvvW2AU0mJOkRWfe_AsTqVF5hc3s_GtEb06GWwYcNgkc/s1600/sweetblogaward.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdPoHePJnR_cyz8hafVL2bsEaDPPObtOqODTdd4yypeXKFFyxw6YRQqy47lVECQg0Q9sO_dNs9wIZUZIw80p1JalPaLfNeHVCvvW2AU0mJOkRWfe_AsTqVF5hc3s_GtEb06GWwYcNgkc/s1600/sweetblogaward.png" t8="true" /></a></div><br />
So, MHowalt was the SWEETEST ever and gave me this cute little award! What's really funny is the award looks A LOT like what my brother and I had every year for our birthday cake. How did she know? I hafta say that whoever presented her with this award was right on the money with her since the GORGEOUS images that @notveryalice and I have on our WIX webpage are solely courtesy of her. She jumped right on the Mongering bandwagon and created the cutest pics ever to depict our Mongering logos. (Don't worry, as soon as I pull them off of my emails I will be posting their beauty here on my musings.) SO....it's MY turn to go ahead and award this same cute little award back out since it would be UTTERLY rude of me to hang on to such a lucious cake! ;)<br />
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So....who to give the award to? Well that's easy but not so easy isn't it? The HARDER part will be giving y'all links to everyone's websites. Don't worry, I may not be uber web savvy, but I have the re-post down pat, so once I put all of my wonderful blog awardees down here I shall come back and give everyone's webpages so that you may click away! Annnnnnnnnd without further ado the WINNERS:<br />
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MHowalt (of course!)<br />
@notveryalice (for obvious Mongering reasons)<br />
MyshelfAndI (Because she's an awesome trivia bookmark giver!)<br />
Ava_Jae (For her awesome pom pom skillz!)<br />
LeiJessica-JessicaLei (Or even BOTH of her simply because she's one of the best crit'rs EVAR)<br />
Kim McCormack (Because SHE'S lucky enough to have an ADHD fairy!)<br />
Leigh Fallon (Because she's willing to trade my servitude for an ARC hee hee)<br />
InLuvWithBooks (Because she said my quote trumped hers! hee hee)<br />
AuthorTiffany (Because ANYONE with a unicorn in her avi is soooper sweet!)<br />
JenBigHeart (Because she has the BEST swag & isn't shy about sharing!)<br />
BethFishReads (Simply for her being an editing MACHINE!)<br />
Helene Boudreau (For her fashion sense while being covered in scales)<br />
TheFourPartLand (It ain't easy being cheesy like he is! ;) And he makes it look GOOD)<br />
Erin Brambilla (Those pom poms & fingers just never quit!)<br />
DanniM86 (Cuz she's one ROCK'N speed demon on the keyboard)<br />
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The instructions, as they were passed on to me, are these:<br />
<em>1. Thank and link to the person who nominated you.</em><em>2. Share seven random facts about yourself.</em><em>3. Pass the award along to 15 deserving blog buddies.</em><em>4. Contact those buddies to congratulate them.</em><br />
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<em>So my Seven Random Facts:</em><br />
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<em>1) </em>I'm all about the color purple. All of the lighters in the house that are purple are mine (that's how I know hublet is trying to snatch mine, if it's purple...it's mine! LOL)<br />
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<em>2) </em>I usually find my shoes in the kid's section....little known fact, a woman's size 6 shoe equals to be a 3 1/2 - 4 in kids. One year I got the COOLEST sparkly light up Barbie shoes! Too bad the next door neighbor's dog shredded them three days after I bought them. I was too disappointed to buy another pair. :)<br />
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<em>3) </em>My favorite ice cream flavor is Ben & Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio--other brands tend to fill space with almonds and that's not as tasty.<br />
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<em>4) </em>I am a fiend for crablegs! Promise me an all you can eat crab leg buffett and I'll go ANYWHERE with you! (just make sure you're not teasing cuz I WILL get mad! LOL)<br />
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<em>5) </em>I named my kitty Tabbytha in honor of a passed away puppy that was named Tabitha, the funny thing is....they both were/are VERY similar creatures despite the species gap!<br />
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<em>6) </em>Lilacs & lavendar are my two most favorite floral smells, but purple orchids are my favorite pretty flowers. Once upon a time it was the rose, and that was LONG before I found out that it was the June flower.<br />
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<em>7)</em> My hublet thinks that it's strange that I can only spend about five minutes on my make-up, but I can literally spend hours grooming my hair.<br />
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All right! There you have it. Some rather strange and random facts about lil ol me! Watch the next blog post for everyone's blog addresses!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-4780992055519501022011-05-18T13:14:00.000-05:002011-05-18T13:14:49.561-05:00#Wordmongering Part Two...Toss in some #editmongering for good measure!Ok! Here @notveryalice and I have finally come to an agreement. The times between :00 & :30 are devoted to those that wish to #wordmongering & the times between :30 & :00 are dedicated to those that wish to be #editmongering. So far it's working out beautifully. Granted there's more #wordmongering than there is #editmongering....but I'm here to say don't be shy about it! If you've got some work you'd like to edit....jump on & get together with @notveryalice! She doesn't bite...and she LOVES to have the company! If anyone has any questions about the rules, or wish to learn more about @notveryalice we have a website dedicated to nothing but the #wordmongering & #editmongering come stop on by! <a href="http://www.wix.com/notveryalice/wordmongering">http://www.wix.com/notveryalice/wordmongering</a>#! We'd love to hear from you. Keep watching the community space too...we're working on some sort of event for both hashtags!!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-77894720224893199912011-05-10T14:56:00.002-05:002011-05-10T14:56:46.614-05:00New website celebrating the #wordmongering hashtag!<a href="http://www.wix.com/notveryalice/wordmongering">http://www.wix.com/notveryalice/wordmongering</a><br />
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My co-founder @notveryalice has created something that's a joy to behold! I'm sharing it with you now! Come join the fun & check out the site!!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-62629002027112940852011-05-04T14:53:00.000-05:002011-05-04T14:53:35.949-05:00Processes Writing is Full of Them.....So here I am with a fully written novel, I'm in the process of editing this wonderous thing. Now what? Well, I have to do something that's the most scariest thing in the whole wide world. Start the querying process. There is so much involved in this process and it's absolutely frightening!<br />
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First, you have to start with all the research. How do you write a query for that dream agent if you don't have the information needed? After all, the point of the query is to land that dream deal. (When I say "dream deal" I'm not talking Amanda Hocking type deal, for me those two words consist of getting representation and selling my work!) Agents are people like everyone else, they just happen to be those that have their fingers right on the pulse of the world you wish to run with. Having said that, you have to remember to TREAT them like people. You wouldn't go to a job interview and call Mr. Smith Mr. Jones. The same goes with the agents. They wouldn't be too responsive if you called them some other name. I know that "I" am a little picky about my name. Most people have that bad habit of calling me Monica. Well, that's only HALF of my name. People usually look at me like I'm insane when I correct them, but it's a person's name. The same goes for those agents we writers put on pedastals. They have names first and foremost. The very next important thing is remembering what genre they represent. You wouldn't send a fiction piece to an agent that represents only non-fiction. This not only helps out the writer, but the agent too! They get bombarded with so many query letters per day I'm sure that opening someone's query and it's addressed to someone else entirely, not even in the genre you represent makes them feel pretty annoyed. I know that "I" would feel that way. It's a waste of their very valuable, very put upon time. They have so much that they're doing and to have someone not appreciate that all that they do is just pure insulting. Since I'd much prefer to woo these agents I want them to know that their time and efforts are as valuable as they are. Research is one of the most important steps in your querying process.<br />
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Next, writing the letter. Now I'm not here trying to tell you that I'm an expert. I can't lie to you like that. To be honest, the research is uber easy as far as I'm concerned, but the writing of that letter is dangerously close to paralyzing for me. Here it is that I have to take my wonderful work that I wrote anywhere from 50,000-70,000 words of and condense it onto a page of no more than 300 words. The ratio just doesn't seem to work out in my mind. So there I sit, staring at my open word document with blank eyes and shaking hands. I will get around to writing that letter...after all this is something that I've been dreaming of since I was 7-8 years old. But I thought that I'd write this piece to let people know that being neurotic during this time seems to me the absolutely normal thing to do. Here's wishing all of us the best of luck and wonderful query letters for those wonderful Agents to get their mitts on!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7678160392531391500.post-14860795857262130342011-04-28T19:54:00.000-05:002014-05-15T16:24:53.407-05:00#wordmongering A Hashtag To Jumpstart Your Writing......Yes, word sprints are not new under the sun. I admit this. But, this approach is sort of new. Being someone with a diagnosed issue with ADHD I was having some issues sticking to a writing plan, schedule, or anything else for that matter. A while ago I'd come across a great site FlyLady. Her philosophy was that you can do anything for 15 mintues. This is true! I'd managed to get my house clean in this manner, it works!! Well, one day I'm sitting and staring at my work in progress wondering how in holy heck am I going to get the words on the page? Then it hit me, we writers can sit and do thirty minutes that's all we need is thirty minutes. So I challanged people to a word war. So we'd start at :00 or even :30 depending on what time the challenges started that day, and just write like crazy, after rest for thirty minutes. *ZING* it hit me. A sort of FlyLady way of writing. Thirty minutes on and thirty minutes off. It worked.....it excited me......I racked up the wordcount, turned off the editor, and just wrote! Managed over 12,000 words one day and I felt like I was on top of the world!<br />
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So, how to get the word out there? After all, writing alone is great if you're one of those guys that has a liver that'd seen better days, a hermit, or just a recluse in general. Twitter! I have Twitter! So I went shamelessly to my Twitter feed and started challenging the writers on my TwitterFeed to "word warmongering". People started taking me up on it. Once I explained that we were doing a half hour on half hour off system they actually liked it. What better way to be able to feel like you're writing, but not working on writing? One of my fun followers @notveryalice and I were talking about it, and I had kept referring to it as word warmongering. Well, as hashtags go, wordwarmongering was rather long and a little unwieldy. Now, a conversation never ensued, but @notveryalice just jumped in with the brilliant hashtag #wordmongering kind of a squooshing together of word warmongering. We started running away with the hashtag. Like any other "grassTweets" movement it's been a little work. The constant plugging on our Twitter feeds. But it's never been work cheering on the mongerers (as I call all of our WONDERFUL participants).<br />
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Ultimately #wordmongering has become an awesome way to get words to the paper and let your fellow writers know that even if you have a word count of 15, that's 15 more than you had before the half hour sprint started. Yes, we call them "word count challenges" we post our word counts at the end of the half hour, but it's not a win or lose thing. The whole situation is a win! It's a win because you came together with other writers and all you expected was thirty minutes. You didn't have to worry about how much you got done in just that thirty minutes. There's something freeing with doing things a little at a time. Just like that old adage of how you're supposed to eat an elephant. One bite at a time. Productivity comes when you release HUGE expectations. Just write, write like Forrest Gump runs (as I'm always telling my mongerers!). It's amazing what will happen if you jump on the train......there you are, with your fellow Tweeple that have accepted the thrown down gauntlet and you post your word count.....you have just managed to get something more out of this little bit than you orginally thought. "What? I got more than I did last time!" you might think to yourself. It happens, yes, we all have our up moments and our down moments, but at end of the day it's all about getting those words onto the screen, page, parchement, skywriting, however and whatever it takes for you to work best.<br />
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So if you see @MonicaMarieV on your Twitter feed don't think that she's talking crazy talk when she's talking about #wordmongering. I'm just working on helping out others like me, if I get some word count along the way so be it! *SHRUG* The bottom line is don't be shy! Come on over and say "Hi" to me.....participate in a couple of hours of writing where you only actually write for an hour......converse with other authors that are finding this way of working an awesome boost to their word counts and their love of being productive. We're a real fun and diverse bunch and we don't mind another friendly face! See you mongering!Monica-Marie Vincenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11545096366362556372noreply@blogger.com8