Celebrating Milestones with Carrie Butler, Google Reader Discontinuing, Ninja News and Small Things, Music Trivia Answers, and Rick’s Picks

Today we are celebrating the milestones with the awesome Carrie Butler!

Celebrate the Milestones

Hey, guys! I may or may not have just rappelled into Alex’s ninja fortress, taken out a few dozen guards, and then snuck into his office—so, I don’t have long to talk. Just ignore the sweat. And the shuriken sticking out of my leg. I have a quick idea to share.

Ever wished your writing/blogging friends were there to give you a boost whenever you needed them? Say you’ve just received your 101st rejection letter, IWSG isn’t for another two weeks, and it’s the middle of the night. What are you going to do to get your mojo back?

The answer is simple: bust out your Anti-Discouragement Folder (ADF)! 

What’s an ADF, you ask? It’s the place where you keep screenshots of positive reviews, critiques, statistics, awards, and shout-outs. Sure, it sounds a little narcissistic, but it's really quite humbling. When you take in the community's support, all at once, it makes you want to get up again. It makes you want to try a little harder. And most importantly, it makes you want to give someone else that feeling.

You pay the encouragement forward, warm and fuzzies seize the land, and the blogosphere rejoices! Win, win—right? So, don't be afraid to celebrate those milestones. They're more important than you think.

Eek. Okay, the guitar solo just stopped down the hall. I better leave this box of Hot Tamales and jet. Later! :)

Now where did this box of Hot Tamales come from…?

Strength, Mark of Nexus – Book 1
By Carrie Butler
New Adult/Paranormal Romance
Paperback ISBN: 9781938404351
E-book ISBN: 9781938404368

When college student Rena Collins finds herself nose-to-chest with the campus outcast, she’s stunned. Wallace Blake is everything she’s ever wanted in a man—except he can’t touch her...

Book links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, and Sapphire Star Publishing

Carrie daydreamed her way through college—until they thrust a marketing degree into her hands, slapped a summa cum laude seal on the corner, and booted her out into a less-than-stellar job market. Instead of panicking at the prospect of unemployment, she used her Midwestern logic to steer into the skid and point her life in the direction she really wanted to go: writing out those daydreams.
Blog, Website, Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads

Ninja News!

The A to Z Challenge approaches! Want to be prepared? Most excellent Ninja Minion, Elise Fallson, posted a list you need to read. Score big, little grasshopper!

Don’t forget next Monday, March 18 - Top Ten Movie Countdown blogfest! It’s going to be awesome.

May you never find your book here - Lousy Book Covers.

Roland Yeoman’s book, Victor Standish Must Die, is free right now – and you could win an autographed photo from The Walking Dead! See his site for details.

On St. Patrick’s Day, Curiosity Quills Press is having a ninety-nine cent sale! Jamie Ayers posted a list of books available HERE.

My small thing this week for VikLit’s “Celebrating the Small Things” is definitely the tiny scarf Deniz Bevan made for Mini-Alex. That just blows me away. That anyone thinks of me or Mini-Alex outside of blogging is just amazing – and very humbling.

Rock Music Trivia Answers!

1 – Black Clouds & Silver Linings (2009) – Dream Theater
2 – Superunknown (1994) - Soundgarden
3 – Cowboys From Hell (1990) - Pantera
4 – Countdown to Extinction (1992) - Megadeth
5 – The Heart of Everything (2007) – Within Temptation

Cheap Pick

Time to go all guitar fanboy on you! But when I saw that the History Channel’s American Pickers was visiting Cheap Trick guitarist, Rick Nielsen, I had to watch.

They met up with Rick at the Rick’s Picks exhibit in Rockford, IL. What was on display was amazing, including Rick’s legendary five-neck guitars.

Then Rick took the guys back to his warehouse, where he has thousands of items from forty years in the industry stored. You should have seen the cases and trunks full of guitars! The guys walked away with several items, including a custom-made guitar they were going to display in their store.

Yes, I was drooling. Had I been there, you bet I would’ve made an offer on a guitar. Just one! I’m not greedy…

Google Reader to Vanish

Google Reader is going away in July!!!

And here I had my Reader all organized and labeled…

However, there are alternatives out there. I found a list at Extreme Tech and will try a couple of those soon.

Google does give you the option to download your list as a ZIP file, so be sure to do that before July 1.

Do you have an Anti-Discouragement Folder? Picking up Strength? Ready to win an autographed Walking Dead photo? Ready for Monday’s blgofest? Get any of the trivia right? Fan of Rick Nielson or Cheap Trick? (Come on – wouldn’t you want one of his guitars?) And anyone else about to search for a Google Reader alternative?