we've got some mid-week catchin' up to do

we're very behind in thanking our friend miles for two awards, so without further ado

THANK YOU MILES!

we're honored you thought of us.

(we hope our gratitude is better late than never!)
--click the thank you message to visit him...he's heading to 100 followers, so follow up with him!--

here are the awards he gave us:

THESE ARE AWARDS FOR NEWBIE BLOGGERS. 

(or) bloggers who are NIFTY AND NICE. 

BLOGGERS, who, if awarded, NEED TO PASS THEM ON to other nifty and nice BLOGGERS. 

so they can introduce their friends to NEW friends in order to meet EVEN MORE NIFTY AND NICE BLOGGER friends!

so THEM'S the RULES. 

any questions? 

oh, probably,cuz there are more rules (and their variations) below

(if we pass the awards on to you, you'll wanna read 'em so you don't screw it up.)

Rules for The Versatile Blogger:

1-Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.
2-Share seven things about yourself.

one and two are non-negotiable...here's where we change it up (just a bit)

3-Pass the award to (up to) fifteen bloggers that you think deserve it. OR...LINK US TO up to FIFTEEN NIFTY AND INFORMATIVE SITES (we can change the rules, right?)
4-Lastly, contact all of the bloggers that you've picked for the award. (unless you opted for option B--linking us to helpful information to get us published faster)

Rules for One Lovely Blog Award:

a) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
b) Pass the award to (up to) fifteen other blogs that you've newly discovered. OR go with option B (explained above)
c) Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.(again, reread above optional option)

okay, back to the screwing it up thing.  we're kinda cheating cuz we're naming only 15 blogs/links total (instead of 30) so really, if your blog/name appears below, then you're gettin' BOTH of the awards pictured above.  we hope that's okay.  you can cheat too, then, if you want.  (we're teachers, so if we say it's okay to cheat on this one, then it is. don't even feel guilty about it.)

and if you're doin' nano...well, then just smile for a second and get back to writing.  don't link. don't thank.  just keep writin'. 

and the awards go to:

Michael (yes, another one) at In Time
J.C. Martin, Fighter Writer
Abbie Minard at Above Water
Mara Nash at Mara Writes
N.R. Williams, Fantasy Author
Megan K. Bickel at The Write-At-Home-Mom

and of course, our victims, we mean interviewees (thanks so much!)

mike wood at Blog of Wood
hart johnson at Confessions of a Watery Tart
JC Phelps
megan bostic at The Angsty Writer
gae polisner

here are some of our favorite "informational" posts that we've collected during our writing and blogging experiences. not that you guys aren't informational. but, you know. . .

Kathleen Ortiz on synop-what? erica once had to write a synopsis. it sucked. but this post helped.

Agent Mary Kole on Voice yes, the dreaded V word. the first 3 posts under this tag are about sarcasm in YA, mature voice in YA, and voice in MG boy books.

New Agent Alerts on GLA because sometimes a brand new agent and a brand new author just need each other!!

Nathan Bransford on writing a query letter this actually gives you a "form" letter to get you started (query mad libs!)

Nathan Bransford and the Anatomy of a Good Query Letter cuz you can never have enough help on getting one of these suckers written (well)

(and an extra one cuz seriously this post isn't long enough already)

Sarah Davies and How To Write The Breakout Novel (six part series) inspired concept, larger-than-life characters, high stakes plot, deeply felt theme, a vivid setting, and the final mystery ingredient

and the moment you've all been waiting for-
SEVEN RANDOM TIDBITS ABOUT erica and christy-- THINGS YOU WERE PROBABLY DYING TO KNOW ABOUT US and didn't even know it. or,quite possibly, things you're gonna wish you didn't learn:

SEVEN: erica and christy have never actually even met, but christy's husband is starting to complain about the fact that their email inbox holds 900 emails and he wonders what on Earth erica and christy need to discuss that causes them to email every four minutes or so. 
SIX: erica has never met many of her friends. she thanks technology for the end of friendship as most people know it.
FIVE: christy is an only child, is 5'1", has been teaching elementary school for 11 years, has a scar on her left cheek after having been bitten by a dog while camping when she was two years old.  she recently took her very own two year old in for his first stitches.  he continues to run around and rough house, not having learned his lesson at all.  christy is quite sure she will be in the emergency room with him a lot over the next decade.
FOUR: erica is the oldest child, is 5'10" (did we really have to share heights?!), has taught early childhood education for 14 years and has two kids. she once got stitches while roller skating, but neither of her children has seen the inside of an emergency room (knock on wood).
THREE: christy feels that snickers are addicting.  she finally lost 1.5 of the 6 pounds she gained after easter and is disappointed that halloween came so soon.  she hasn't been on the scale yet to find out where her weight stands.
TWO: christy is trying to convince erica that exercise is good for the mind, body, and soul. erica's leaning towards the snickers idea instead.
ONE: erica and christy are setting a New Year's goal to actually meet each other. Watch out, 2011!!!!!

we're done. you can leave now.  BUT come back tomorrow cuz erica is part of something fun and crazy (started by author mike wood) and there are prizes involved.