Paying It Forward, with Links to Cool Blogs & Sites

My writing friend and colleague, Tracey M. Cox, recently tagged me in a blog award post. Thank you so much, Tracey.

I’d urge my writer friends to click on the link in Tracey’s name and check out all that she does for the writing community: picture book critique services; platform building consultation services; “Summer Sparks,” a challenge that gets the writing idea engine turning over in summer; plus a listing of authors and illustrators who do school visits, so that teachers and librarians can get the information they need. How awesome is all that?

Rather than doing the full requirements of the award, I’d just like to pay the honor forward by recommending some great blogs and sites to you, starting with Tracey’s site, linked above. (Where you can also see how the award is supposed to be done. 🙂 )

I recently read the wonderful, heartfelt middle grade novel Gracefully Grayson. (Thanks, Rosi, for recommending it!) Watch for a post about the book in the near future. The author, Ami Polonsky, has a blog and a delightful website (with chirping birds in birdhouses!). Check it out at this link. Hearing those birds in the middle of winter is a treat.

One of my favorite writing craft books is Jordan E. Rosenfeld‘s Make a Scene: Craft a Story One Scene at a Time. Jordan, who is an author, editor, and writing coach, has a great blog at this link. She also has another book coming out soon, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, which is something we all need help with once in a while.

Jordan also participates in a cool site and FB page called Sweatpants and Coffee, an online magazine that bills itself as “A bastion of comfort and sanity in an often uncomfortable world. We are an online magazine dedicated to comfort, creativity, inspiration, and fun.” Check it out!

And finally, I want to point you to Susanna Leonard Hill‘s blog, where today we are celebrating all things PUNXSUTAWNEY PHYLLIS, since it is National International Phyllis Day. I mean, Groundhog Day. There’s a POETRY CONTEST and goodies and everything. If you’re not familiar with Phyllis, just check out this post on my blog, and this one, and this one, too.

I hope these websites/blogs will add some loveliness to your day.