As regular readers will know, one of the most frequent topics on this blog is travel, usually involving our family motorhome (posh name) / camper van (what we usually call it). But when I was giving my website a New Year makeover, it occurred to me that there’s one sort of travel that I’ve neglected to mention here – and that’s virtual travel.
Have Blog, Will Travel
No, I haven’t devised a Star-Trek style teleporter – though I’d love one of those, if I could be confident that on arrival at my destination all my molecules would be reassembled in exactly the right place. What I’m talking about is guest blogging – where I’ve hopped across the ether to write a guest post on somebody else’s blog.
Just before Christmas, for example, I managed to appear both in the USA and Greece on the same day, thanks to two blogging friends, the US author Amira Makansi and writer/musician Jessica Bell, who is based in Athens, Greece, but comes from Australia, which pleasingly allows me to squeeze another continent into this conversation.
About Amira Makansi
I met Amira via the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), whose Self-Publishing Advice blog I edit. I was intrigued to learn that she had co-written her debut novel The Sowing with two other writers – her mother and her sister. She kindly wrote about her experience on the ALLi blog, then invited me back to hers to be interviewed about my own book, Coming To Terms With Type 1 Diabetes. You can read my interview – and lots of interesting posts by Amira and other guest bloggers – on her blog here.
Introducing Jessica Bell
Jessica Bell is another ALLi friend, a live wire with endless creative talents: she writes brilliant novels, poems and music. Though based in Athens, she also runs an annual Writers’ Retreat in Ithaca, mythical home of Odysseus and Penelope. Not quite as mythical as, say, Atlantis – it does actually still exist, as I can personally testify – I went there quite a few times in my pre-motherhood sailing days. It’s hard to imagine anywhere more peaceful or beautiful to pamper your muse. This probably makes Jess just about the coolest person I know.
One of the many other plates that Jessica spins is her blog The Alliterative Allomorph (yes, I also had to look up Allomorph in the dictionary), and every Wednesday she invites a guest blogger to sound off about any writing-related topic of their choice. Just before Christmas, she hosted a festive-themed post by me,. I realise this does not have the same topical appeal in early January, but it was great fun to write, allowing me to segue from my own frivolous, hot-off-the-virtual-press Christmas ebook to what in my opinion is the greatest ever Christmas novel – Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. There’s something about Jess’s blog that makes me want to talk about the greats, because last time I was on there, I talked about Tolstoy.
A Virtual Paper Chain
I also took part last month in a mass blogging event, known as a blog hop. This requires a number of bloggers to blog on the same theme, at the same time, and link to each other’s posts, leading readers on an ethereal tour. This one was held on 21st December, the shortest day (in the northern hemisphere, anyway), and took as its theme “Casting Light Upon the Darkness”. Historical novelist Helen Hollick kindly organised this mass blog, which meant coordinating 30 bloggers in different locations and time zones, and it was fascinating to see each author’s individual take on the subject. You can see Helen’s starting point here, but if you want to hop straight to my post, you’ll find it here.
So those were my December outings. In future, whenever I write guest posts or am interviewed on other people’s blogs, I’ll be adding links here so that you can read them in situ – and while you’re at it, you’ll gain an introduction to another great blog too!
By the way, I also regularly host or interview other author bloggers on my Off The Shelf Book Promotions website: www.otsbp.com – but more about that another day.
Follow That Blog!
If all that blog-hopping is making you dizzy, there are two simple ways that you can keep up with my online wanderings without having to remember to click on my blog every week:
- sign up to receive each new post in your email inbox by clicking the “follow” button
- subscribe to my new e-newsletter, which provides will give you a monthly round-up of my online activity within a single email, once a month
You’ll find instructions on how to do both of these things in the right hand column on the home page of my blog.
Thank you so much for including me here, Debbie! Great to see Jess Bell up there as well, as I am incredibly jealous of her writing life in Greece. Best wishes for writing in 2014!
Thanks, Amira, and thanks for interviewing me on your blog before Christmas too! Happy New Writing Year to you!
Thanks for fun post, Debbie. Good to ‘meet’ some of the ‘faces’ of the ALLi facebook group. Happy New Year!!
Thank you, Clare, and Happy New Year to you too! You are one of the few ALLi “faces” that I’ve met in real life, by the way, although I’ll be adding to my collection at the London Book Fair 2014!
Happy New Year! By coincidence I went across to look at the ALLi website yesterday as I heard on another website that you blog over there. I hadn’t realised how much you do. Let’s hope this year is full of more travels real and online. All the best
Hello and Happy New Year to you too! Yes, I blog all over the place, and I’m planning lots of “real” travels in the camper van too this year, plus a travel memoir about our trips in the camper van. Never a dull moment! Have just found your new blog – those pictures of Scotland are stunning – and have followed it, so looking forward to keeping up with your travels too!
Thank you so much. The travel memoirs sound great, I’ll look forward to it.
Lovely thoughts and a super picture to boot! Look forward to more of this in 2014.
Thanks, Carol! The photo is of my dad and my daughter in the harbour at Mousehole in Cornwall – they are inseparable! I do love being part of the blogging community – so many great ones out there, including yours! (Check out http://www.pillsandpillowtalk.com, folks, it’s always interesting, thoughtful and fun – and I recommend Carol’s new novel, “One Night at the Jacaranda” too, which I reviewed here: http://authordebbieyoung.com/reviews/directory-of-book-reviews/one-night-at-the-jacaranda-by-carol-cooper/)
Very kind of you, Debbie.
That picture appeals to me even more now. Grandparents are so special.
We are really lucky that we live within half an hour’s drive of my mum and dad, and Laura sees them at least once a week. Unusual these days to be so nearby, though when I was a child, I lived within walking distance of both sets of grandparents, and had them all until I was in my teens – luxury. Hugely influential on me. Here’s a post about my paternal grandma (who I am more closely resembling by the minute!) http://authordebbieyoung.com/2012/06/26/5020bowled-over/ and one in celebration of my dad’s 80th birthday, written just after that trip to Mousehole: http://authordebbieyoung.com/2012/10/23/in-praise-of-pine-cones-and-grandpa/
Love those bowls as well as the posts! I don’t buy anything unless I reckon it will enhance my life (or someone else’s). When growing up, I was lucky enough to live with 2 of my grandparents. Every afternoon after school we’d go and visit my great-grandmother! Will post a 4-generation photo at some point. You may be able to see a grainy version here http://www.flickr.com/photos/chatelard/4105966832/
How lovely! Can’t get that link to work – may be something to do with permissions – but I’d love to see that photo!
Happy New Year to you too! You are very sweet to include me here! Sending virtual coffee and biscuits as thanks. <3
Thanks, Jess, that just hit the spot – I needed a bit of virtual caffeine this morning!
Happy New Year to both of you, and the other peeps in the post! Jessica, I just have to tell you that I think your bio photo is the coolest (I really love me a red lip, and you do it very well). Debbie, I’m squinting at Laura’s sweatshirt in your new header image — does it say “I Heart Barcelona?” Help me out, please! 😛
Jessica’s wonderful photo is from a music video she did a little while ago – it is so striking! And my goodness, you are eagle-eyed, Laura – yes, that sweatshirt is a souvenir of my Laura’s favourite place in the world! We went there to mark a big birthday of mine a few years ago – and the occasion of my giving up full-time employment, so a double celebration. We bought her a HUGE souvenir sweatshirt thinking it would last her for years, but of course she is now growing out of it. Oh well, I suppose we’ll just have to go back to get another one – she certainly won’t complain about that! 😉
That’s very sweet, Laura, thank you!!!