Thursday, October 13, 2011

Mother Superior Pays it Forward

Matt Rush, *cough* MacNish, (link) and I have been friends for a while, so when he mentioned this blogfest, I gave him the virtual pfft.

He immediately blamed Alex J. Cavanaugh (link), who I sort of know, as he's Mr. Sci-fi, and I'm Ms. ... not sci-fi...

What's all this about, you ask? 

Me kicking off the supercool "Pay it Forward" Blogfest (link) a day early (b/c I post M&Th)! It's OK--they said I could.

Here's how it works: we're supposed to list three blogs we follow and think are awesome, and that we think you should follow, too!

This is a really great idea, but I have to confess: it's REALLY hard for me.

I would automatically send you to my beta/critter's blogs because I love them all, and they are all super-great ladies with super-great blogs.

(That would be Tami-Hart Johnson, Carolyn Abiad, Anne Kenny, Jen Daiker, and Jessica Bell.)

But those ladies are established rock stars, and I think we're supposed to showcase bloggy buddies who might be more new or less known. (Still, if you haven't, check out those guys--they're fantastic.)

In that spirit, I'll toss these guys in the mix:

Elle Strauss (link) is not really a newbie, but I was surprised by how many of you *aren't* following her. She recently published her debut novel Clockwise, which I read and gave two enthusiastic thumbs up--here's the link to my review--and she's just a great writer who typically posts really cool writing tips and advice.

Liz Fichera (link) also has fun posts about stuff. (Yep, I just wrote a sentence that would make my sophomore English students proud.) But Liz has a few new books coming out, and I recently finished her book Craving Perfect. It was really cute and fun, and I think you'll like Liz.

Finally, (last but not least)

Old Kitty (link). I just can't tell you how much I love Kitty's quirky little blog. Maybe it's her pictures of Charlie (her cat) or maybe it's just her little cottage in England and her short posts on writing or baking or rain or people who don't act right. Or maybe it's just that she's so encouraging to me. Everyone should follow Kitty. I know her real name, but I'm sort of an Old Kitty myself, and I forgot.

But that's not even mentioning Tracy Jo (link), who is just the most amazing, strong person and takes gorgeous pictures, or Carol Riggs (link), who perks my little chin up all the time...

Now I'm frustrated that I can't list more than three... Malex!

Have a great weekend, reader- and writer-friends. Til Monday~ <3

53 comments:

Miranda Hardy said...

Cheater! Lol I love this blogfest. I'm not sure I'm following your lovely friends. I'll have to check them out.

Jessica Bell said...

Awesome! What a privilege to be mentioned! Thank you! Okay, you've set the standard now. Sorry, Matt. I'm gonna have to cheat!!! Come' on! If she did it, why can't I???? :o)

Vicki Rocho said...

I know most of your list -- and am impressed as heck that you were able to narrow it down. That's TOUGH!

Old Kitty said...

I'm blushing! Blushing!! Awwww shucks!!! Awwww!! You're such a star!! Yay!!!!

I love visiting your blog cos you always write about the most amazing things that make my brain think! LOL! Double yay!!

And yay for all these other fabulous blogs too! Take care
x

Pat Hatt said...

I like this idea some, but then my little rhyming bum, is already three posts ahead. So it kind of ruins my mojo and brings dread..haha

Great shout out to your favorites.

DEZMOND said...

oooh, I do love Liz Fichera a lot ... lovely lady! And we follow each other's blogs :)

Tracy Jo said...

What a way to start my day! I feel honored to be mentioned....thank you so much!!! I am pumped for this blogfest and a weekend of meeting and greeting new people. :-) I am off to do some visiting. You rock LTM!

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

I visited Old Kitty and now that gorgeous soup is beckoning me! :)

I love this peek into three fav's of my fav's, yanno? :) #awesomeidea

Matthew MacNish said...

I know most of these people, but I'm pretty sure you just introduced me to at least one new one. Which is the whole point!

Thanks, LTM.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the mention, love. Now I must check ALL THE LINKS! ;)

Hart Johnson said...

Love, love love you, chica! Thank you for the mention and link, and i will definitely check out the smaller ones you've got!

Anonymous said...

Leigh, THANK YOU for the nice comments. :)

I'll be joining the blogfest tomorrow and picking three is going to be pretty near impossible...

Carolyn Abiad said...

Thanks for the mention, but I'm hardly the rock star. That would be Jessica. ;)

Off to check out Liz and Tracy Jo.

Janet Johnson said...

Lots of great blogs here! And I have seen Old Kitty's name everywhere and am not yet a follower. Off to rectify that. :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Leight .. some I know, some I don't .. but it's good to have some explanations of their blogs .. I didn't enter - but I'll enjoy the tour .. cheers Hilary

Unknown said...

Thanks for linking me! I linked you too, but didn't know you linked me until I came to your blog to get your link! Your other links look awesome too! :)

LTM said...

@Liz--happiness is a warm Pay it Forward blogfest... :D <3

@Carolyn--don't be shy. You're the Turkish rockstar. ;p

Carolina M. Valdez Schneider said...

What a great blogfest! I love the pay it forward idea! I know Old Kitty and Elle well! I adore them. But the others are new to me. I'll be sure to check them out!

Michelle Fayard said...

These are all extremely excellent choices, Leigh, and what a great idea for a blogfest.

RaShelle Workman said...

Great picks, Leigh. And, WOW! Just wow. Thanks for putting my book up on your blog. I'm a little misty-eyed. Thanks again. =D

Kelly Polark said...

Awesome! I don't know some of these blogs. Will check them out.
Have a great weekend!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

So sweetie, you have the most fab group of CPs! I didn't know all of them were your CPs. Good for you. I really need to find myself a formal group.

Elle is totally awesome and Kitty, well...goes without saying. I don't know Liz, though. Off to visit Liz.

Enjoy your weekend!

Jennie Bennett said...

Hey! New to your blog through the hop. Looks like you have an awesome place here :)

Lindsay N. Currie said...

Lovely post - I always love to see what blogs others find engaging and informative!

Matthew MacNish said...

Hi Nerd. I'm just back because I'm visiting every blog on the list. Even the cheaters.

LTM said...

@Lindsay--Thanks, girl! I think you'll like these guys~ :o) <3

Lydia Kang said...

I'm already followning ALL of your rockstars. I have good taste, no?
;)

Bish Denham said...

Found you through the hop! So many wonderful blogs.

Michael Di Gesu said...

You certainly picked some of my favorites. I was tough just to pick three.

I hope all is well LB... Cold day in Chicago today.. Brrrrr.

J.L. Campbell said...

I'm following some of these bloggers. Will be making the rounds to find the others.

Carol Riggs said...

Aw, you're so sweet! How fun to be someone who "perks your little chin up"! What a fun blogfest, this Pay It Forward. :)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I absolutely LOVE Old Kitty! She is one of the best and most loyal commenters in the blogosphere! :-)

Anonymous said...

Great list of blogs--thanks for sharing!

Angela said...

You know, I don't think I've checked out Old Kitty. Going to check her out now. Thanks for the heads up.

LTM said...

@LBD--you bet! They're all supercool folks~ :o) <3

Robyn Campbell said...

Checking out your picks. I wanted to list ten. But MacNish was all, well, you know! :-)

Patti said...

Great choices, I'm following some already but will check out the other ones.

M Pax said...

I cheated, too. Will have to check out the ones I don't know about yet.

Alison Pearce Stevens said...

Great links! Funny... the first post listed under "you might also like" is "Does cheating make you hungry?" ;)

Jemi Fraser said...

Love the style with which you cheat! :)

I know almost all of your suggestions - and they are fabulous people!

Natalie Aguirre said...

Thanks for the great links. I'll have to check them out, especially Old Kitty.

Stina said...

Woo hoo, I recognize a lot of these names (and follow them). :D

LTM said...

@Alison--I didn't cheat! They said I could go early!!! Oh, wait. You mean listing more than three? umm... huh? :D Welcome! I need a snack~ <3

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

You've got a great list here! I adore Jennifer "old kitty" and Carol. I'm off to check out everyone else.

Have a lovely weekend!

DL Hammons said...

I've must have had my head buried in the sand, because I've not visited any of these bloggers before. I'm about to fix that right now. :)

Dawn Kurtagich said...

More awesome blogs to check out :D YAYY!

Romance Reader said...

More awesome blogs to follow! I'm loving this!

Anita Grace Howard said...

Hah! You ROCK. Do you realize (and I"m sure you do because you're just super savvy like that) you actually managed to give props to not three but TWELVE blogs? Sneaky girl. You'd never make a good nun, you know. Hee. Off to check these folks out (although I already follow several!) Happy weekend!

Jeremy Bates said...

i missed the pay it forward hop, so coming fashionably late to say hello! nice to meet you leigh :)

Talli Roland said...

Great suggestions! I'm lucky enough to follow all these wonderful people and you're right - they're fab!

Ciara said...

You have some great and familiar picks here. It was great to meet you at Lydia's blog. I'm following you now.

LTM said...

@Dawn--Yay! :o)

@Anita G.--Umm... huh? ;p Yay!

@Jeremy--I'm often late, so you're getting no hate here. :D Welcome~

@Ciara--Yay! Thanks, and welcome! :o)

Unknown said...

Hi Leigh, stopping by from the blog hop. Glad to have discovered your blog, it's really cool! Following you on twitter:)