Classic Romance Revival

One of the things I need to help balance my life is great tips from my online contacts. I love it when someone passes news on to me I can really use. I'm very happy for Judah Raine this weekend. She is the owner and inspiration behind Classic Romance Revival--a readers' and authors' group. If you remember, I interviewed her a few weeks ago on this here blog!

This weekend is the pre-game show for the new Classic Romance Revival website. If you enjoy reading classic romance, or writing it, I highly recommend joining the group on Yahoo and checking out the new website: www.classicromancerevival.com.

There's going to be some give-away prizes. I've thrown in a copy of THE PRIVATEER. But that's just for starters. Swing by and check out the site. You may find a great book to read. CRR reviews, too. You can read the review of THE PRIVATEER to get an idea.

Cheers to Judah Raine for her commitment to Classic Romance!

Judah says:

Classic Romance Revival exists to re-establish and grow classic romance as a popular genre in today’s world. With the widening of the Romance “umbrella” to include many different romantic genres, “classic romance” has become something of a “niche” market, although there are still many readers and writers who still subscribe to the traditional romance values. We aim to bring these groups together with publishers of classic romance, to work together to promote the genre by creating a place that specializes in romance that incorporates the traditional while at the same time allowing for the diversity that exists among our members.

Kreativ Blogger Award

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled Friday blog posts with happy news--I've received the Kreativ Blogger Award. Thank you to Joyce DiPastena for thinking of me and The Balanced Writer.

Because I've won, I get to post seven things you probably don't know about me and nominate seven new blogs of my choice. This should be fun!

7 Things You Never Knew (About Me):

1. I survived a tornado in downtown Nashville when I was three years old. I still remember the sounds and sights of everything crashing around us as it roared by.

2. Most people don't know I was actually a freshman cheerleader in high school, but I quit half way through. In a nutshell, I discovered it wasn't for me. (I joined the school newspaper instead!)

3. The second story I ever wrote was juvenile fiction and it was held by a publisher for one year. DANNY BOY has yet to be published but I haven't given up on my Appalachian adventure set in the 1950's.

4. I am such a creature of habit that I must check my email as soon as I wake up in the morning...before I eat, dress, or anything else. A break in my routine leaves me stressed out and disengaged in whatever else I'm supposed to be doing.

5. I love the sea, but I hate seafood. Sorry, but I can't stand it. It doesn't matter if it came from a shell or it had scales, if it lived in salt water, I can't stand the taste. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of girl.

6. Do you remember the Yellowstone National Park fires of 1988? I was there watching the sky turn black. A year later I spent almost every free weekend exploring the charred land. Yellowstone is one of my favorite places in the world.

7. I got my scuba certification about five years ago. My first saltwater dive was 90 feet down in the Gulf of Mexico. I'd never seen barracuda before and they were swarming all around us. I learned that I don't panic even when I'm scared, and that I can do anything I set my mind to. It was a life lesson worth living.

Okay, now for my nominations. I love following a good blog and getting lots of unique information. I also enjoy visiting blogs by fellow authors and finding out more about them as they share their thoughts. My nominations go to:

1. The Sweetest Romance Authors Blog

2. Prairie Chicks Write Romance

3. The Classic Romance Revival Blog

4. Lindsay's Romantics

5. Monya Mary Clayton

6. Barbara Huffert's Blog

7. Suspense by Anne

Now, here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award. (Thanks, Joyce!)

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link the logo to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might not know.

5. Nominate 7 Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Good Luck!
daniellethorne

Walking in the Rain

I am by no means an avid exerciser, but I do try to walk on occasion. With fall around the corner, I’ve promised myself I’ll get on a more regular schedule. This doesn’t mean a little mosey around the block. Speed walking works for me. I feel it hurt in all the right places and it doesn’t jar my bones.

Last night I got about a quarter of a mile from the house and the clouds that I thought had dried up, opened up on me. There I was in a white tee-shirt and yoga pants with my i-phone crooning John Mayer, and somebody turned on the faucet. After the initial unpleasant sensations of feeling my shirt dampen and stick to me, I just accepted it. First thing was-I couldn’t run home. I don’t run. It’s a complex mixture of ego, age, and ability. Secondly, it was dark, so no one was going to see me looking like an over-aged coed in a wet tee-shirt contest. Third, there was no lightening, no rumbles. Just a good summer downpour.

After I got really soaked to the skin (and was still a-ways from the house), I realized there wasn’t any reason to hurry. Ironically, I’d been doing that all day. Now, it just didn’t matter. The wet started to feel good on my head as the ponytail soaked through. The air was Georgia warm. The rain was invigorating. Suddenly I started remembering all of those moments throughout my past forty years on this planet when playing in the rain was like THE BEST ADVENTURE EVER.

When I was a kid, we lived in a condo for awhile that had a drainage ditch behind the house. When it rained, that thing ran like the Mississippi River. It was awesome (and probably deadly) to stand in it with water up to your knees and feel the force of the current, or to throw things in and watch them whiz away. Then there was high school: summer rainstorms and walking through the neighborhood with a friend, both of us barefoot on the black pavement, holding hands, blinking as we sang in the downpour. Those were the days.

I was a little disappointed when I reached my driveway, even though rain ran off the tip of my nose and water was squishing in my sneakers. The shower was still coming down in a deluge. And it felt wonderful.

I had to go into the garage so I didn’t track puddles through the house. That was the adult in me-- practical and responsible, waiting for me to come back to my senses the moment the walk was over. It didn’t matter though. After I went upstairs and changed, I felt like I’d just had a spa treatment.

It should rain a little more often on us in our lives when we don’t have umbrellas and we’re far from home. A little water never hurt anybody. I’ve forgotten that.

Meet New Friends

Today I am chatting with The Sweetest Romance Authors at Coffee Times Romance. Please come by and join us for some friendly conversation!

Sweet Authors at CTR Boards

New Voices

When I was young, there were a handful of teachers who took a special interest in my writing. These teachers inspired me to press forward. I often wonder how much more I could have accomplished and how much earlier I could have reached my goals if I would have had a little more help. Encouraging young writers today is important to me. I know what it feels like to be alone with a story in my heart and a dream to share it. That’s why this year I agreed to help chair the 2010 New Voices writing competition. This contest not only promotes e-publishing, but encourages writers to become authors. The contest is free and provides prizes and publishing opportunities. Read on to find out more, and help spread the word by forwarding our information to your local schools, libraries, and teachers.

The 2010 New Voices Competition for young writers is under way. Encourage and promote writing for young authors by sharing the news!

Viewpoints are rapidly changing in the publishing industry and our school systems regarding e-publishing. EPIC’s members have been on the forefront of the literacy fight, speaking at schools and conferences, and encouraging evocative and expressive writing from young writers.

EPIC established The New Voices Competition to encourage reading and writing within school systems and libraries. This contest is an opportunity to educate young writers on the e-publishing world, as well as the variety and versatility of e-books. It urges up-and-coming authors to spread their wings, offering the possibility of turning dreams into reality.

--from the New Voices Handout

New Voices is for middle school and high school students between the ages of 11 and 18. The contest is free and awards winners from Grand Prize to Third Place.

A new website is under construction. Visit last year’s page at: http://www.epicauthors.com/newvoices.html

For more information, a current brochure or entry guidelines, e-mail newvoices.chair@gmail.com

Please spread the word about the 2010 New Voices writing competition. Follow us at Twitter as EpicNewVoices.