I’ve been tagged once again. Back in October, I was tagged for the 2014 WIP tour.
Today, I’m responding to the One Lovely Blog Tour, a fun-oriented tour that I first heard about from Carol Bodensteiner’s post last month. I discovered a few great blogs I’d never heard of before from that post and I thank Carol for it. But she didn’t tag me. Bummer. 🙂
Instead, my tags came from Mary Gottschalk — whose memoir Sailing Down the Moonbeam was eerily similar to my Two Years on the Kazakh Steppe — and Kathy Pooler, whose memoir of her escape from domestic violence, Ever Faithful To His Lead, was not.
At least that’s what I thought initially. But more on that in a later blog.
The rules for the One Lovely Blog Tour are similar to the WIP Tour
- Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog (Check; see above)
- Share seven things about yourself.
- Nominate bloggers you admire (as many as you can think of!)
Here are the seven things about myself: How many do you already know?
1. I met my current husband for the first time on the Internet in 1989 (this story has future blog post possibilities).
2. I almost dated Elton John (this would definitely make a good blog post).
3. I sold Good Humor ice cream from a truck one summer (this one wouldn’t).
4. I worked on 42nd St. in NYC while in undergrad school at NYU (yup, it’s half written already)
5. I was a pool lifeguard for one summer. (Hmmm, maybe a single blog about the crazy jobs I’ve had over the years. When you start low, your career trajectory really soars)
6. I’ve had over twenty mailings addresses in over 7 states (big yawn), beginning in a large city just outside Manhattan, and ending now, on 30 acres in Vermont.
7. My father died on Valentines’ Day in 1956. He was the navigator on a small plane piloted by Whitey Ford, a former mercenary in the Spanish Civil War. (Now there’s a story)
The blogs I’m nominating are an eclectic mix; I encourage you to check them out; subscribe. As I’ve found, one can always unsubscribe if it turns out to be not your cup of tea after all. Sometimes it takes reading a few over time to see if it’s a fit. Here, in alphabetical order, are eleven “lovely blogs,” ones I’ve enjoyed over the past year and a half or so:
- Becky Povich Young At Heart
- Debra Eve Late Bloomers
- Jan J Jan My Little Corner of the World
- Jerry Waxler Memory Writers Network
- Joan Z. Rough One Rich Life
- Krista Tippett On Being
- L. E. Carmichael Life, the Universe, and Everything
- Laurie Buchanan Tuesdays with Laurie
- Pamela Olson Fast Times in Palestine
- Susan Joyce Blog
- Tim Urban Wait But Why
Again, the small print: None of these authors need feel obligated to participate. This is certainly not a chain letter threatening dire consequenses if you don’t play. If it’s not for you, if it comes at a bad time, no fret. I’ll still read your blog. Think of it as a game, one that should be fun. Cheers.
How about you? Are these blogs new to you? I hope you’ll check them out.
[box] Interested in reading At Home on the Kazakh Steppe? I hope so.
Click here for the PAPERBACK and eBook versions. Amazon makes it easy. And, you can always order it from your local independent bookstore.
If you’ve read it, leaving a review on Amazon will help bring me closer to being able to offer a weekend with a discounted price. (just in time for you to fill your family’s Christmas stockings) 🙂 [/box]
Janet Givens
Oh dear. What poor timing on my part. Here I’ve invited all these new guests and I’ll be off to speak at my grandson’s school. Today it’s all the third graders who will learn how to spell Kazakhstan. And more, I trust.
Nevertheless, do come in. Make yourself at home. Chat amongst (is that really a word? It shouldn’t be) yourselves and I’ll ne back in the afternoon.
Marian Beaman
You are such a good sport, Janet, participating in yet another energizing tour.
One of the most important outcomes in playing these games is meeting new bloggers and readers. As a result of my recent 2014 WIP Tag Tour, I met a wonderful new friend from the UK. There is no other mechanism that can make this happen so easily.
Four of your nominees are familiar to me. The others I need to check out! Thanks, Janet for all of this and your entertaining list of seven.
Janet Givens
Hi Marian. I too love how these tours expand our world. And glad you’re a part of it now.
Joan
Thanks so much for your nomination, Janet. You’re a sweetheart!
I just started reading your book a few days ago and I’m enjoying it immensely! How brave you were to pick up and leave everything behind for this incredible adventure!
Janet Givens
So glad you’re enjoying the book, Joan. I thought you might. It was a grand adventure, one that is still going on.
Laurie Buchanan
Janet — I thoroughly enjoyed reading the seven pieces of information about yourself. Especially that you almost dated Elton John!
Thank you so much for the nomination!
Janet Givens
I love that story too. Of course, it was before he was famous and, needless to say, he never called. I’ll blog about that next year sometime. It is a fun story. Told it at a party once and someone built it into “nearly marrying” Elton John. 🙂
Susan Joyce
Janet, Thanks for recommending my blog site! I enjoy knowing about the other interesting blogs as well. I’m enjoying reading your book about your adventures on the Kazakh Steppe. Thanks also for sharing tidbits about yourself. Fun ones!
Janet Givens
Hi Susan, so glad to see you here. Thanks for stopping by. I’ve enjoyed your blog out of Uraguay for awhile now; and including you was one of the easiest decisions. I love the ultimate goal of this Blog Tour: to help bring visibility to blogs. Virtual word of mouth, I suppose.
Debra Eve
Hey Janet, thanks so much for the nomination! I’ve so enjoyed discovering great memoirists like yourself and Kathy and plan to add a section for memoir writers on my blog (it’s being redesigned at the moment). Can’t wait to check out the other nominees and read some of those blog posts — sounds like you’ve had a fascinating life!
Janet Givens
Welcome Debra. I take full responsibility, you know, for putting you and Kathy together. 🙂 And I can’t wait to see what’s in store on your redesigned blog. You and your blog provide a valuable service to the reading community, and others as well. Stories that need to be told. And people who need to be seen. Thank you.