Tag: bloggers

Bringing us together ~ words have wings!

Chris Hall40 Comments

Last Friday, it was with great delight that I released a new word into the blogosphere. Braccaneer has been added to the lexicon of our lives.  No sooner was the post out, than Tom from Beyond the Sphere, had come up with a badge! Not just one, but a range from which to choose. As Tom has generously offered, go and help yourselves!

Words link us all together, don’t they? That’s what we do here on WP.

Out in the big wide world, words also bring us together and it was just two years ago that I became involved in the Writing My City Project which brought people from all over Cape Town together to write stories and poems about their city. My small part of the project was, with the invaluable help of the Head Librarian, Bongi, to lead a series of writing workshops in her library for a group of women whose life experiences and life chances are very different to mine. Together we teased out some beautiful and heart-wrenching stories. It was a privilege to share the experience with them.

I hadn’t thought about it recently, but I was really saddened to learn that the Suiderstrand Library, where our writing group met, had burned to the ground last weekend. I really hope the City of Cape Town rebuild it for the sake of the local community and the dedicated staff. My copy of the anthology, containing my humble contribution is safe on my shelves at home, but I’m sorry for the loss of a great little library and its books.

But on a much brighter note, here’s my big news of the week

Diverse contributors around the worId have been brought together in a new collection of poetry and art, edited and published by Tara Caribou of Raw Earth Ink. Tara writes the most exquisite, visceral poetry and I’m honoured that she selected all five of the poems that I submitted to her latest project, Creation and the Cosmos.

Within “Creation and the Cosmos”, you will discover nature’s revelation transformed into poetry, rhyme, digital photographic art, painting, photography, and more.
Throughout these pages, thirty-two artists and writers from all over the world express their emotions and thoughts as seen through the wide-open eyes of nature. From stars and moon, birds in flight, the raging storm, a deer’s quiet passing, the salty depths of the sea, rolling hills and towering mountains: there is art in all creation.
Sink your hands into the rich soul-soil of humanity’s finest creators and allow all of nature, both dark and light, to impress its artistry in your heart.

Creation and the Cosmos will be out in paperback and ebook, and is due for release on 23rd March 2021. I haven’t seen the book yet, but I know from my own paperback copy of Tara’s poetry collection Four, that this will be a beautiful book to hold in your hands. Save the release date when I’ll be posting the links to where you can get your hands on a copy.

“…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”~ Vincent Van Gogh

Feel Free to Use this Badge

Chris Hall20 Comments

Hands off our content, Tygpress!

This, That, and the Other

With all of the unauthorized harvesting of our posts that is going on at tygpress.com and seemingly not much that can be done to stop it, I created this badge that I will attach to all of my blog posts going forward.EDC343BA-4E67-4F78-BDFB-02FE6D5C0A26Please feel free to grab this image and post it on your blog. By doing so, this image should show up on your posts that have been stolen by tygpress.

You’re welcome.

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Tell the Story Challenge #4

Chris Hall5 Comments

000Tell the story prompt from The Haunted Wordsmith

Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith – nominated me to participate in the Tell The Story Challenge a week or so ago (this one slipped down the back of my desk temporarily).
This is the photo for the challenge.

The rules:
Write a story about the picture you’re given.
Select 3 nominees.
Give them a new picture.

Georgie’s secret

Georgie is a trusting kind of kid; obedient too. Each Saturday morning he dutifully departs to his piano practice with elderly eccentric Zephaniah Zimmerman, even though the open maw of the grand piano, with its great grinning gnashers, smirks at his inability to transverse their scales.

He’s always very smartly turned out, although his mother’s sartorial choices are not to everybody’s taste. Including Georgie’s. But even at the tender age of six, he rises above the taunts and sniggers.

That’s because Georgie has a secret. He leads a double life. Georgie disappears into other worlds.

You see, Georgie reads books.

Despite the rules to nominate three people, I think this time I’ll just throw it open and see what comes back.

What’s the story behind this old photo? I could tell you…

MISS ARNOLD

Tell the Story Challenge #3

Chris Hall16 Comments

Tell the Story NOMINATION from A Pause for Nature Lunasonline

SanaH – A Pause for Nature – nominated me to participate in the Tell The Story Challenge. This is the photo for the challenge.

The rules:
Write a story about the picture you’re given.
Select 3 nominees.
Give them a new picture.

The Sealed City

‘You’re new here, aren’t you?’

He nods.

‘You see the city over there. It looks like any other city, doesn’t it?’

He frowns and shakes his head. ‘But it’s not; I heard. That’s why I’m here. I’m a writer.’

They sit down.

‘I heard there’s no way in or out. That, although you can’t see it from here, there’s a cordon, an impenetrable ring of steel around the whole perimeter.’

She nods. ‘Since the virus struck.’

He leans towards her. ‘Is it true about the virus? Everyone who catches it becomes some kind of monster?’

‘That’s what they say. Flesh eating monsters and worse.’

The writer’s eyes widen. ‘But the whole thing’s been contained? I mean, no way in and no way out.’

She leans forward and grabs his wrist. Her hand is very cold and her grip is strong. ‘Don’t be so sure.’ She smiles, pulling his arm closer.

I hope these three guys will up for this challenge: 

Sandmanjazz

A Guy called Bloke and K9 Doodlepip

Fangango: This, That and The Other

Flowers Beating by Walter Molino - picture prompt

Flowers Beating by Walter Molino

 

Tell the Story Challenge #2

Chris Hall5 Comments

Tell the Story - Chris Hall - lunasonline

Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith, nominated me earlier this week to participate in the Tell The Story Challenge. This is the photo she gave me.

The rules:
Write a story about the picture you’re given.
Select 3 nominees.
Give them a new picture.

Uncle Foss’s Library

Catherine loved books which was just as well as she had very few friends other than the characters in the stories she read. Fortunately she wasn’t short of these, as there were so very many books in her uncle’s library. Uncle Foss had been her guardian ever since she could remember. He had engaged various tutors over the years, as had been stipulated in her wardship agreement, but none had lasted long. Catherine had therefore educated herself, partly under her uncle’s guidance, through the perusal of the wealth of knowledge which was contained between the covers of his extensive library.

No books in Uncle Foss’s library were forbidden or out of bounds, although there were certain high shelves that he’d steered her away from, saying she’d enjoy those books better when she was older. But now, a few days away from her fifteenth birthday, while her uncle had been occupied in Town, she’d climbed the library ladder and removed three interesting-looking volumes which she’d been considering for some weeks now. At almost fifteen she was certain she was ready for the high shelves.

Back in her room after supper and a game of backgammon with her uncle, she chose the smallest book. It was old, bound in finely tooled black leather with silver embossed letters on the front which read: ‘Faerie Folk and Mischievous Creatures – A Guide’. Catherine had loved magic and fantasy stories since she was a little girl. She started to read.

“They are as old as the oldest hills and their presence is clings on even in the most rational minds, deep within our collective memory. Ancient and modern, of both sexes, and neither good nor ill, they live long, long lives, then disappear as ash on the wind.” Catherine started as the window behind her rattled. She looked round, but it was just the oak trees branches brushing against the glass. Storm clouds were gathering, covering the bright face of the new moon.

“Although of the earth, they are otherworldly, living between our world and theirs. Rarely noticed, they appear at the periphery of our vision, hidden in plain sight…”

Out of the corner of her eye, Catherine suddenly noticed a movement behind the nightstand next to her bed; a mouse? But no, it hadn’t moved like a mouse, and she was sure she’d seen a flash of scarlet.

There was a knock at the door. Her uncle entered, smiling. He crossed the room and gently took the little book from her hands. “It’s time, Catherine,” he said. His face lit up with excitement, “time to introduce you to the other members of our household.”

So, my nominees are:

Amartya, Jumbled Letters

Dr Tanya, Salted Caramel

One Life, Tap My Toes

A story, a verse, a vision? See where this takes you.

00 Image for Tell the Story - Your dog. Your style by @dogmade.artwork
 Your dog. Your style by @dogmade.artwork

Tell The Story Challenge

Chris Hall2 Comments

tell the story challenge

Vicklea, of Vickie’s Book Nook and Mediation Corner, nominated me last week to participate in The Eclectic Contrarian’s challenge. The challenge is to be given a photo and then write a story based on the photo, hence the Tell The Story Challenge. The photo Vicklea gave me is above.

Here are the rules:
Write a story about the picture you’re given.
Select 3 nominees.
Give them a new picture.

So, the story which, although prompted by the photo, is also a homage to my little old rooster who gave his last cock-a-doodle at the weekend.

Bird Life

The little rooster is first to awake, greeting the pre-dawn with his joyful call. Young squirrels start their chatter and mama guinea fowl calls from the fence top like a loud rusty gate.

The little rooster calls again; the hens shift about on their perches. He hops down and struts about, pecking at the floor of the hen-house, waiting for the day to begin.

The side gate opens. The hens hop down and jostle for position, peering through the chicken wire. Food arrives and with it, freedom. Pecking soon done, they all file out across the yard.

The little rooster rounds the corner of the house and sees mama sparrow tugging at the earth. Out pops a fat green caterpillar. She takes off and lands on the edge of her nest, offering it to the first new-born chick to raise its beak.

Then, a flash of yellow as a black-masked bird swoops in. The little rooster watches as he plucks another long strand of bamboo leaf and flies up to the high, high branch which sways over the pond, to weave it deftly into his beautifully-crafted nest.

Then the little rooster sees his favourite little black hen settled in the shade of the myrtle bush. He shuffles in beside her. He’ll take another stroll later; there’s no hurry.

And my nominees are:

Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith

JP the Wide-eyed Wanderer

Sadje, Keep it alive

Here’s your picture: make of it what you will!

00 prompt street art in padova italy - streetart by kenny random
Street Art by Kenny Random – Padova, Italy

Are email notifications from WordPress jamming up your inbox?

Chris Hall6 Comments

This is really helpful if you don’t know all the ins and outs of managing your notifications!

Keep it alive

When I started by blog, I didn’t know much about how to manage the notifications in my app and my computer/ laptop.

As I got into the groove, my readership grew and each and every time anyone commented, liked or followed my blog, I would get an email. So in addition to writing, reading and commenting a new task was added. That of deleting hundreds of emails from my inbox. This not only consumed a lot of time but caused a lot of irritation to me.

Every time I received an email with a notification, I was asked if I was getting too many emails and if I wanted to reduce the number of emails. I would try to uncheck the different boxes in the hopes of reducing the influx of these emails, but no substantial improvement happened.

Then one day I hit the jackpot! I found out how I…

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The Mystery Blogger Award

Chris Hall15 Comments

Mystery-Blogger-Award-Cover

A big thank you to Tanya, Salted Caramel, for this nomination!

If you haven’t done so already, check out her blog here: https://saltedcaramel.blog/  It’s a real “bloggers’ blog”!

 

What is the Mystery Blogger Award?

mystery-blogger-award-288x300
The “Mystery Blogger Award” is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.
Okoto Enigma, Award Creator.

 

The Rules

  1. Put the award logo/image on your blog.
  2. List the rules.
  3. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
  4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
    (note: the link is there, but doesn’t seem to be working)
  5. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
  6. Answer the questions provided by your nominator.
  7. Nominate 10- 20 people.
  8. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
  9. Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
  10. Share a link to your best post(s).

 

Three things about me:

  1. I worked in risk management for more than twenty years (how exciting is that?).
  2. I’ve seen three ghosts in different houses.
  3. I collect sea shells (not many, I promise).

 

My answers to Tanya’s questions:

  1. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

The interaction and encouragement of other writers and bloggers.

  1. What is the idea behind your blog name?

There wasn’t really an idea; I just used a version of my cat’s name. When I originally set up the site I was a bit nervous of putting my writing ‘out there’. That’s also why my debut novel was published under a pen name.

  1. How do you see your blog growing in 2019?

I’m a writer and author primarily and my blog site was really intended to be an author platform. I’ve been a bit side tracked during November, with these challenges, gifts and awards, which has been really interesting and fun. However, as I’ve said elsewhere recently (and below), I need to draw back a bit and concentrate on writing and editing above all else.

  1. What proportion of your blogging time do you spend on blog promotion?

Not much. I’ve set up my posts to automatically share to my Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts; sometimes I’ll tweak the shares bit. Otherwise, I guess engagement also equals promotion and I try to keep up with all the blogs with which I connect. That’s maybe an hour a day.

  1. Relate one funny anecdote about blogging.

I’m not sure is this is funny or just weird, but I’ve been pulled up by ‘real’ people (in the sense of people I go for coffee with) for talking about the characters from my work in progress novels as if they are real people. I see worried looks in their eyes…

Mystery-blogger-award-500x504

My nominees (with no obligation to participate!)

Gristle Mill, Alice Gristle’s Writing Blog – https://alicegristle.wordpress.com/about/

Thea by Me – https://theabyme.com/

Hitandrun1964, Rethinkinglife – https://gigisrantsandraves.wordpress.com/

JP the Wide-eyed Wanderer – https://wideeyedwanderingspoonie.wordpress.com/

Lilly Eves World – https://whitelillyweb.wordpress.com/

Natalie Swift, The Midnight Ember – https://themidnightember.wordpress.com/

Laleh Chini – https://avoicefromiran.wordpress.com/

Sarah, The Abject Muse – https://theabjectmuse.me/

Desi Videsh, Indians Abroad – https://livinginleuvenbelgiumeurope.com/

Demi Mitchell, The Lupie Momma – https://thelupiemomma.wordpress.com/

I’ll be letting them know in the next few days…

 

My questions – should you choose to answer

  1. What song will always get you on the dance floor?
  2. What’s your signature dish?
  3. If you could meet any author throughout the whole of history, who would it be and why?
  4. If you could only read one book genre for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
  5. Which do you prefer: jelly beans or fish fingers with custard (this is the silly question!!)

 

The link to my ‘best’ post – https://lunasonline.wordpress.com/wip-novel/

Okay, it’s a link to my work-in-progress novel  which I spent most of this year writing. I’m in edit mode now, and so this is going to have to be my last Award participation for a while.

I need to concentrate on my writing in 2019. So, if it doesn’t involve actual creative writing: something I’ve written or a response to an inspiration or writing challenge (short, very short or even medium-sized), I’m going to be a bystander. But it doesn’t mean I won’t be following and commenting on all your lovely blogs!

 

0happy hols

The White Elephant

Chris Hall19 Comments

white elephants

Teresa, The Haunted Wordsmith, is holding a ‘White Elephant’ party throughout December and since Teresa very kindly gifted a beautiful time-turner to me yesterday, I’m continuing with three gifts of my own.

The first gift goes to Sadje of Keep it Alive and I’m giving her a display cabinet in which to keep all her well-deserved blogger awards:

Display Cabinet

Now, I actually got two of these in a Black Friday sale, so the second gift of a display cabinet goes to Salted Caramel for exactly the same reason. She also gets a second silly gift of a bowl of salted caramel flavour popcorn because I know she likes it and you can’t have too much of a good thing!

Salted Caramel Popcorn

And finally, my third gift goes  to The Dark Netizen  and I have chosen to give a him a lightsaber as I’m excited to know what he’ll do with it!

Lightsaber