new blogging year

…back with a new look for the site, some new features,  a new author photo and a new logo. It was fun (after the initial slight learning curve) to get the site all spiffed up in its new attire. The theme is “Divi” by Elegant Themes, which has a very cool drag and drop module set-up. I will continue to have fun as I learn to make the most of it. (And I’ve finally learned how to change text colors in my blog posts!) I’ve made a similar change at my other blog, The Starborn Revue. I also had fun creating the logo. It’s very simple, but it says what I want it to say. Over the summer I thought about why I focus so much on the arts in my writing and on my blog. It’s not just because I love music and theatre, although I do. It’s because music and theatre have bolstered my confidence, helped me to find talents and strengths that were hiding inside the shy child that I was — they have empowered me throughout my life. As I thought further, I realized that words — spoken words, sung words, and very importantly, written words — have also empowered me and continue to do so. So this year, I want to focus on the way we can be empowered by the arts and by words, and I want to do my part to help empower others. Thus the logo, with the words Empowerment ~ Arts ~ wordS in a circle, since they all follow each other and lead each other simultaneously. Also, because I love playing with words, the capitalized letters in the logo — the E of Empowerment, the A of Arts, and (oddly) the S of wordS — are my initials. I’m looking forward to getting back to doing interviews this blogging year, beginning with one this coming Monday, September 8, when I’ll be interviewing writing colleague Marcie Colleen about the teacher’s guides she creates. In the coming months, there will be interviews with poet, educator and editor Renee LaTulippe; writerpreneur and video maven Katie Davis; a return appearance by author, editor and educator Emma Walton Hamilton; and I also hope to do occasional interviews with authors and others, looking at how they have been empowered by the arts and by words. Julie Gribble will be back with her in-depth series on Making a Picture Book, beginning Monday, September 15th. Since the first Monday of the month was Labor Day here in North America, we decided to bump everything down a week in the schedule. Things will be back to their normal slots in October. The grammar Q&A, A Word with Beth, will be back (generally the third Monday of each month). This month, however, will have a slightly different focus. The Grammar Owl will return in October. (You can send in grammar and word use questions any time, to mail (at) flubs2fixes (dot) com.) Read-through Fridays will continue, mainly focusing on middle grade novels this year, with only the occasional Perfect Picture Book Friday post. Because of all the other things I have planned for Fridays, there’ll only be one book recommendation each month. Although I’d planned to do a PPBF post this month, I recently read a wonderful MG that I just have to share! A new feature on Fridays will be a monthly spotlight on an independent bookstore somewhere in the world, generally the fourth Friday of the month. Some will be stores I’ve been to, others will be ones that are on my bookstore bucket list. It’s my way of supporting independent bookstores. I think it’s going to be an exciting year! I hope you’ll join me regularly, here at By Word of Beth. What are your plans for the coming months?