Gardening Naked with Hart Johnson, 300,000 in Book Sales, IWSG Co-Hosts, and Blogging Questions

Today I have the honor of welcoming a long-time blogger buddy and advocate for Naked World Domination, author Hart Johnson!

Gardening Naked

First, a GIANT thanks to Alex for having me! You're always a rock star!

So... you may or may not be aware that last Saturday was officially International Naked Gardening Day (proof with a full nudity warning). This was most unfortunate timing, and not just because several of my friends got snow that day.

You see... I'm the EMPRESS of naked, yet my second book, The Begonia Bribe, which is spot on with the gardening theme, didn't come out until TUESDAY—Totally missed an opportunity to promote both nakedness AND gardening!!!

But I think we should just declare an entire naked gardening SEASON.

You heard me... Get on out there and bond with nature the way nature intended.

Though to be clear, there are safety allowances where accessories are concerned. Gloves can be essential when dealing with thorns and thistles. And Crocs just make good sense if you have to shovel (save those toes!) Thorns, black widows and under-nail grime need not be your fears. Also, WEAR SUN SCREEN! For pete's sake, your skin hasn't seen the sun for months. Heck, depending on your typical prudery level, some parts may never have seen the sun.

And if you need an inspiring break from all that gardening, I have a book in mind... About a child beauty pageant, a lot of gardening and MURDER...

Hart (aka, Alyse Carlson) writes books from her bathtub and can be found at Confessions of a Watery Tart, on Facebook (author page, profile), Twitter, or Goodreads.

Book links: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Thanks, Hart! Now, pass the SPF 100...

Ninja News

My awesome co-hosts for the June 5 posting of the IWSG will be Sheena-kay Graham, Suzanne Furness, and Laura Eno!

Want to be a successful Indie author? I know one author who has sold over 10,000 copies of her books, but this figure will knock your socks off. RaShelle Workman has sold over 300,000 copies of her books! Yes, that’s a three with five zeroes. You can visit her Amazon author page HERE to view all of her books. She'll visit here in June to do a guest post and share the secret of her success. RaShelle, you rock!

Today is the last day to post for the A to Z Challenge Reflections. Once you’ve posted yours, be sure to add it to the list HERE.

VikLit’s “Celebrating the Small Things” is today. I’m celebrating a week of normalcy after the A to Z Challenge. (My wife might be celebrating even more.) I’m also celebrating a couple key friendships I’ve made here online. You guys rock.

Blogging Questions

Does it sometimes amuse you what people will comment on? I always try to offer a variety in hopes everyone will find something of interest, but sometimes what people chose to comment on amuses me. Maybe I should post a section of the phone book just to see what people say?

Do you think people shy away from bloggers with large followings? Maybe they are intimidated to either follow or comment? Or they feel they won’t be noticed? I follow back anyone who follows (unless I can’t locate that person’s blog), respond to all comments, and try to comment on new followers’ blogs when possible.

Will you be gardening naked? Picked up Hart’s book? In awe of 300,000 books sold? (I am!) And what are your answers to the blogging questions?

Heading out for more fun this weekend – everyone enjoy!

Iron Man III Review, Rush Clockwork Angels Concert, Ninja News, Wednesday Movie Quote, and Bloglovin’ Question

Iron Man III Review

Another great entry in the series.
It’s less of an Iron Man movie and more of a Tony Stark film. Downey reprises his role with ease, firing off witty and hilarious comments left and right.
The special effects are great. What really shines are the action sequences, especially the ending. (The director wrote the Lethal Weapon series, so he knows his action.) We get multiple Iron Man suits this time as well. (Although the constant breaking down of the prototype began to grow old.)
Die hard fans of the Marvel comics will be disappointed with the villain, The Mandarin. I’m a DC guy so I had no history with the character.
It doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as the first two, but as a superhero action film, it delivers. Highly recommended.

Rush Concert Review

Last Friday night – and well worth missing Iron Man’s opening!
Rush is probably the oldest band that is still relevant, producing albums, and touring. They have twenty-four gold and fourteen platinum albums, for an estimated forty million albums sold worldwide. And they still put on an amazing show.
This was the second leg of their Clockwork Angels tour. For those of you who are steampunk fans, you’d dig the album – and you’d really like the stage setup and animation. They performed nine songs from the album, complete with a small accompanying orchestra. They also played a unique set of old favorites.
What continues to amaze me about this band is quality of both the music and the performance. Geddy, Alex, and Neil are three of the best musicians in the world and are truly a sight to behold in concert.
And I won’t even scare you with how many times I have seen this band in concert….

Mini-Alex didn’t get to go, but he did get a cool t-shirt!

Ninja News

First, I have to say thanks to you guys! Author CM Brown featured a poll during the A-Z Challenge, asking people to vote to Appreciate a Fellow Blogger – and I won! Thanks, everyone. That really means a lot, because I’m sure during the month there were many bloggers nominated.

Michael Pierce’s next book is now available – Susy Asylum.

In SUSY Asylum, there is no release. There is no escape. No hope…

This is the sequel to Provex City, which is receiving a new cover – second edition should be available soon.

Congratulations, Michael!

The Post A to Z Road Trip kicks off today, hosted by Tina Downey, Shannon Lawrence, and Nicole. If you’d like to join them as they continue visiting those on the Challenge list, sign up at the A to Z Blog.

Talli Roland has a new book coming out November 2013 – The No-Kids Club.

Almost-forty Clare Donahue is living child-free and loving it – except for her shrinking social circle…

Congratulations, Tallie! And funny, since you no longer belong to that club.

And Katherine at Katherine’s Corner had her photo selected for the cover of Ruby For Women Magazine.

Congratulations, Katherine!

Wednesday Movie Quote

Post your favorite here or play along on your own blog.

Today’s genre is psychological thriller.

My choice is from Manhunter:

Will Graham: I know that I'm not smarter than you.
Doctor Hannibal Lecktor: Then how did you catch me?
Will Graham: You had disadvantages.
Doctor Hannibal Lecktor: What disadvantages?
Will Graham: You're insane.

Next week’s genre – monster movies!

Bloglovin’

I was waiting until after the Challenge to start using a new reader. Bloglovin’ seems more user friendly than Feedly and will likely be my preferred reader. It doesn’t update quite as fast as Google Reader, but it does update all blogs and not hours later. (Or in poor Robyn’s case, not at all!) Following and unfollowing is easy, as are adjusting the various folders.

I did discover one drawback though. Bloggers who have their comment box on a separate page, such as Jay Noel and Medeia Sharif, I’m unable to comment because Bloglovin’ won’t pull up that second page. It’s just a blank screen. I had to hop over to Google Reader to find them there and leave a comment. Has anyone else noticed this and is there a setting I can adjust?

What did you think of Iron Man III? Any Rush fans out there? Excited about Michael and Talli’s books? Taking the A to Z Road Trip? What’s your favorite psychological thriller quote? And anyone else using Bloglovin’?

Melissa Bradley’s Favorite Lady Badasses, CassaStorm Winners, Friday Night Alibi, and Ninja News

Special treat for you today! Melissa Bradley is here to share her favorite bad ass ladies, and this Ninja highly approves of her choices!

My Fave Lady Badasses

"Thanks Captain, for letting me take over your ninja fortress for a little bit. Yes, I promise I'll be brief.Wait, what's that? Watch out for Mini Alex. Okay." Smiles and nods as Alex walks away, then looks around quickly for any sign of the little guy.

"Alright, coast clear. Now where was I? Oh yeah, I love strong women, love to read about them, love to watch them in the movies and of course, love to write about them. Growing up I was caught between the women's equality movement and old school, conservative relatives who wanted to me to start planning my wedding my junior year of high school. It was my dad who first introduced me to badass women. He took me to see movies like Alien and Star Wars and talked about his admiration for Ellen and for Princess Leia as leaders.

Anyway without further ado, here are my fave badass ladies of the movies

Ellen Ripley (The Alien films)
She was the first woman I ever saw in a command position on a space ship, going toe to toe with her mostly male crew, but also a nine-foot acid for blood alien. She wielded a flame-thrower and a pulse rifle with skill and I was dazzled.

Selene (Underworld)
Female vampires had always been slinky, slutty characters relegated to the background, but here was a badass who wielded guns, blades and had mad hand to hand skills. What is not to love?

Alice (Resident Evil)
Growing up, it was the guys who always racked up the zombie kills and the ladies only got one in on occasion and usually because the guys were not around or already dead. Here was a woman highly skilled in hand to hand and any other weaponry you could think of. She took charge of the situation and waded in to kill every ghoul in the room.

Zoe Washburne (Serenity, Firefly)
Zoe is in a whole class by herself. Second in command of a squad of rebel soldiers, then a crew of smugglers, she is one of my fave characters of all time. She is brilliant in hand to hand, but nothing compares to her skills with firearms and her uncanny ability to assess a situation and size up the odds.

I have lots more, but I don't want the Captain to cut me off using one of his ninja techniques. Besides I think I hear those little feet and I am such a klutz, I don't want to fall on the poor fellow. But before I go, I love to hear from people so feel free to drop by my blog, Melissa's Imaginarium anytime. Or hit me up onTwitter or Facebook.

About Melissa:
She grew up on the Southeast Side of Chicago, a land steel mills and churches right at the bottom of Lake Michigan. It's not found on many maps, but it shaped her passion for writing and storytelling. When she's not writing or working her day job, Melissa can be found at the library or parked in front of her TV indulging her other big passion, movies.

Her latest books: NATHAN'S ANGEL and BYZANTINE PROVOCATEUR

Thanks, Melissa – you rock!

Ninja News

Voting is open at Michelle’s BLOG for favorite funny A to Z Challenge definitions. Prizes are involved, so check it out.

Annie Walls is hosting the May Monster Madness next week. “How does May Monster Madness work? Well, it's a blog hop featuring posts about monsters! Anything you can think of as long as it has something to do with monsters... crafts, lists, movies, funnies (a personal favorite)... anything!”

The A to Z Challenge Reflections list will be open through Friday. Remember, it’s not a sign up! Add the link to your Reflections post after you have posted. (Sorry, we had to delete a few who signed up but hadn’t posted yet.)

The Best/Worst Movie Remakes Blogfest is a week from Friday – don’t miss it!

My review of Iron Man III (it was good!) will be up on Wednesday, along with a review of what I saw Friday night. (And yes, it was even better.)

Cover Reveal – Friday Night Alibi

Friday Night Alibi
By Cassie Mae
Available July 29, 2013

Rising star Cassie Mae introduces New Adult readers to a practical soon-to-be college freshman who seems to have everything—until a special guy shows her what she’s been missing.

In the wealthy town of Sundale, Kelli Pinkins has hatched the perfect plan to capitalize on her sweet reputation…

“Totally entertaining with as many swoon-worthy moments as hilarious ones, Friday Night Alibi is a must-read.”—Jolene Perry, co-author of Out of Play

“A fun, funny, and fantastic story, this is one you will read in a day, and pick up to re-read again the next.”—Kelley Lynn, author of Fraction of Stone

Pre-order Friday Night Alibi: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, and Random House

Challenge Winners of CassaStorm

Thanks to everyone who left a comment last month. (All 4100+ of you!) Random.org selected the following winners of a review copy of CassaStorm:

Jemi Fraser

Mark Koopmans

Congratulations you two!

Following the awesome Melissa? Who would make your list of badass ladies? Signed up for the blogfests? Excited to pick up Cassie’s book in July? And who else saw Iron Man III this weekend…?

A to Z Challenge Reflections, Ninja News, Celebrating Small Things

Congratulations to everyone who completed the Challenge! Be sure to grab your survivor badge.

Before I dive into my Reflections post…

Ninja News

Very special thanks to ML Swift for his IWSG post. Mike started a monthly spotlight feature, and Wednesday it was me. And I was completely blown away! I was truly humbled, Mike. I’m just a dude with a blog, a guitar, and a couple books trying to do his best…

THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy concludes in THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE. 
By Donna Hosie

Natasha Roth and her older brother, Arthur, have removed the magical darkness that had fallen over the land of Logres.

But all actions have consequences….

Available May 31, 2013

My Challenge Reflections

This was my fourth Challenge and my third as co-host. That first year changed my blog forever, which is why I will always champion it.

Once again, this year was massive. We have an awesome team in place and worked hard to make it the best experience for everyone. The codes were something new this year and that seemed to work very well.

The introduction of minions was a Godsend. I thanked them Tuesday, but I can’t begin to express enough thanks. My Ninja Minions rocked. They really helped keep the list free of ad sites and non-participants. And helped this Ninja keep his sanity.

I was pleased so many liked my theme. It was a lot of work. Between selecting movies, characters, blogger buddies, song, trivia, not to mention finding links, images, and adding the Ninja News and formatting, each post took a minimum of four hours to put together.

But it was worth it to feature twenty-six of my blogger buddies, most of whom thanked me in an email or on their blog. I picked everyone and everything with care, making sure every post was special to that person.

My only regret is I had over sixty names on the original list and I wished I could’ve highlighted everyone. There’s always next year, although at this point, I have no idea how to top this year…

My thoughts, the good and the bad:

I did gain a big batch of new followers and found some cool new friends. I also became reacquainted with some older followers through the Challenge. (Yes, I need to update my blogroll soon…)

Some of the themes were really amazing. I intend to interview some bloggers for the A to Z Blog again this year, highlighting their awesome themes.

Some themes worked better than others. Many writers highlighted their books in a unique manner, such as Nancy Thompson, Julie Flanders, Carol Kilgore, L. Diane Wolfe, and Charity Bradford.

Others posted snippets of their work: Gwen Gardner, LG Keltner, and Christine Rains. Nick Wilford even wrote his day by day, using words suggested by commenters that corresponded to the letter of the day!

And some other cool themes included Mary Montague Sikes’ animal painting a day, Father Dragon Al’s dwarves preparing the Dragon Cave for the tour, Golden Eagle’s daily science, Clarissa Draper’s mind puzzles, and Elise Fallson’s “ology” series.

I confirmed my geek twin in Lynda Young - scary how similar our tastes and how much we have in common!

There were a few who had really long posts. We encourage short posts, but I wonder if we shouldn’t suggest a word count, such as 200-400?

I didn’t encounter word verification very often, which was great!

Comments and blog visits:

This deserves a section all by itself!

Many people see a surge in comments during the Challenge. I normally post every other day, so mine tend to dip a little, which is fine.

I knew I was in trouble when my A post garnered 263 comments. (And since I reply in batches, about 250 of those were unique.) I may have clones, but no way I could keep up with that.

And the comments didn’t dip below average until the end of the third week.

Whoa…

I told Lee, I think there may be such a thing as too popular.

Every day my Blogger Buddies folder in my reader would hold 150 or more posts. Add new followers and comments, plus my section of the Linky List, and you’ll start to get a feel for my daily experience. I’ll admit it was more than I could handle, and I had to skip a few blogger buddies now and then just to maintain.

So for anyone I missed or did not return your comment, I’m sorry! Next year I’ll make more clones…

Did anyone else drown in comments?

Overall, another amazing year! Lee, thanks again for your vision. 

As for VikLit’s Celebrating the Small Things – I’d say surviving the Challenge qualifies!!



What were you thoughts now that the Challenge has ended?

Do not sign up now! Wait until you have posted your Reflections and then come back to add the exact link to your post.




Enjoy May’s IWSG posts? What are your thoughts on this year’s Challenge? Did you make some new friends? Have any issues? What themes were cool to you? Ready for next year? Who else went into hiding on Thursday?

And who else is seeing Iron Man III this weekend? I won’t be seeing it until Saturday as I’m seeing something even better tonight. Will explain next week…