Rush in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ninja News, Juliana and Her Heart’s Secret Wish, Awards, Blogfest Thoughts, and Christmas Movie Trivia!

Wow, what an incredible week! And I didn't die. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first…

Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!!!!!

This was the first year the public was allowed to vote, and they made their choice known. After years of being snubbed by the owner of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Rush finally made it. Plus the remastered 2112 CD/Blu-Ray Super Deluxe edition comes out December 18. Party time!

Ninja News

Today’s Special Challenge Participant Feature at the A to Z Blog is Sherry Ellis of Gone Gardening! Her theme was “Gardens Around the World," so check out my tough questions. (I made her do math!)

Vine Leaves Literary Journal, created by Jessica Bell and Dawn Ius, launched a year ago, and this week the anthology was released. Congratulations Jessica and Dawn on the release of The Best of Vine Leaves Literary Journal 2012!

Gifts Aren’t Only From Santa Event December 14-15 – discounted and free books, with the proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital. See Gwen or Cherie’s sites for details.



If you haven’t had a chance to vote in Karen’s annual Blog Awards, they are in the final round now. I’m up for Blog of the Year, Retro-Zombie Jeremy if up for Favorite Other Blog, Cathy’s Life on the Muskoka River is up for Favorite Pee-In-Your-Pants Funny Blog, Ella’s Edge is up forFavorite Crafty-Type Blog, Robyn’s Life By Chocolate is up for Favorite Singles' Blog, Livia is up for Favorite New Blog, Tyreanis up for Favorite Inspirational Blog, Lynn Kelley is up for Favorite Blog By a Parent, and Sherry’s Gone Gardening is up for Best Kept Secret. Happy voting!

Mel at Writings, Musings, and Other Such Nonsense is holding a book giveaway – lots of books! See her site for details.

Book Release!

Her Heart's Secret Wish by Juliana Haygert

Genre: NA contemporary romance
Release date: December/12/2012

"With a renowned reputation as a player, she had everything figured out…"

Purchase Her Heart’s Secret Wish at Decadent Publishing, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and find it on Goodreads.

Find Juliana Haygert: Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and at NA Alley.

2012 Blog of the Year

Patsy Collins gave me my first 2012 Blog of the Year! Thank you, Patsy.

The rules for this are -
1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award
2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen — and ‘present’ them with their award.
3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award — and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)
4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them.
5 You can now also join the Facebook group.
6 As a winner of the award — please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award — and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars… Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once — this award is different!
When you begin you will receive the ’1 star’ award — and every time you are given the award by another blog — you can add another star! There are a total of 6 stars to collect."

Wow! I’m just going to pass this on to one person – Lee at Tossing it Out, because if anyone deserves blog of the year, it’s Lee!

A Big Thank You!

Words cannot begin to describe my thoughts and feelings regarding all of the “Alexfest” posts this week. The funny stories and pictures, the kind words… it was just overwhelming. I didn’t die, but I was touched. And I laughed a lot! Thanks, everyone. My wife saw some of the messages to her, and she thank you as well. And I really appreciated the response to my post here on Monday.

I won’t mention any of the posts here (as a couple more are to appear today) but I will note some exceptional ones on Friday when I announce the winners. And I’ve decided that since selecting just two will be nearly impossible, I’m going to round up the very best (that will be difficult enough), toss them into a hat, and randomly pull two winners. Does that sound fair to everyone?

Thanks again, my friends. It’s just amazing how this blogging community comes together, and I’m honored to be a part of it. Never doubt that one person can make a difference. Even if he’s ”Just Alex.”

Movie Trivia – Christmas Style

1 - What is the name of Rudolph’s dad?

2 – In what city did “A Miracle on 34th Street” take place?

3 – Who played Scrooge in “The Muppets Christmas Carol?”

4 – What is the full name of the BB gun Ralphie wanted in “A Christmas Story?”

5 – What song made Santa’s sleigh fly at the end of “Elf?”

See some interesting news today? Voted for your favorite blogs at A Peek at Karen’s World yet? Picking up Her Heart's Secret Wish? Know any of the trivia? And did you have a favorite “Alexfest” post?

Don’t forget to visit Sherry at the A to Z Blog!