An Official (ahem) Announcement . . .

. . . and more.

But first the Official Announcement.

It is official that I have lost my mind. Why do I say this? Because I signed up for the A to Z Blog Challenge. But you already saw the badge over on the left. Didn't you? (I was going to say Right? instead of Didn't You?, but then there's that whole left/right thing, like the who's on first? stuff.)

Now just because I signed up for the challenge is not the cause for me losing my mind. Although it's my first time to participate, hundreds, even thousands, of you do it every year.

But not only am I signed up to do this fun challenge, I'm also going to be doing a blog tour for Solomon's Compass during this time.

And that combination is the reason I know I've lost my mind.

If anyone of you find it wandering around with a lost look on its sweet little face, will you please send it home? I miss it. And I need it desperately in order to write all these blog posts!

:::

Speaking of blog posts ...

Guest Bloggers Wanted!

I'd like to host one or two of you per month from May through December. Mondays are preferred, but Wednesdays are a possibility.

In addition to regular guest bloggers ...

In March, I'll have a special promotion going on. Sorry for the late notice, but I only thought of this a couple of weeks ago, and my blog posts were already full until today.

March Monday Mania has arrived!

In March, I’m going to be guesting elsewhere on every Monday of the month. And I’m going to do a giveaway on the host blog. I would like to host a guest blogger here at the Tiki Hut on each of those Mondays with the only requirement that my Tiki Hut guest also do a giveaway.

So we will have a double giveaway that opens the possibility of double exposure for each of us.

What do you think? Would you be interested in one of the March Mondays?

Here’s where I’ll be on those Mondays:
3/4  –  Patricia Stoltey  *** This Tiki Hut date is already taken by Julie Flanders ***
3/11 – Susan Swiderski
3/18 – Rula Sinara
3/25 – Nas Dean

If you have an interest in guest blogging either for March Monday Mania or later in the year here at Under the Tiki Hut, email me at tikihuttime AT gmail DOT com.

I hope to hear from a lot of you :)

:::

Are you a Social Media Butterfly?

Me either.

I'm more like a social klutz. I flutter from flower to flower, but I bump into things along the way.

However ... I'm not afraid to jump in and try something new.

Check out my right sidebar. Scroll down a little, past the JOIN button, to the Facebook, Twitter, etc. buttons.

See the new Facebook icon? Notice what's next to it? (My best webbie friend ever is still working on this as of Sunday afternoon. If it's not there yet, it will be soon.) It's there! On the right sidebar-->

For the almost two years I've belonged to Facebook, I've struggled with how to distinguish my Author Page from my Profile/Timeline/Whatchamacallit. Finally I came up with something to try.

Going forward, my Page will be devoted to Readers and Book Lovers. My Profile will be geared toward Writers.

If you currently follow me at one place or another and want to check out the other one, click on either For Book Lovers or For Writers. Or click on both of them. It's allowed :)

When you reach the Book Lovers page, be sure to click the Welcome Button at the top. This will explain my goals for the page. Since this is my page, you will need to LIKE it to have any shot at receiving my posts in your news feed. Or if you want to participate in the discussion. For Writers is my Profile, and this is the one you send a Friend Request.

I'm hoping for for total interactivity. Is that even a word? I hope it's an achievable concept :)

:::

That's it for today.

There will also be a post on Wednesday, so stay tuned!




Comments

I think I saw your mind wandering somewhere between P and Q...
Glad you are on board for the Challenge!
Looking forward to hosting you May 20. Were we switching that day? Otherwise I'd be honored to visit the Tiki Hut in September or October.
You ARE a busy lady. I'll look for your mind and maybe i'll find mine too. :)

T
L. Diane Wolfe said…
We're all set for later this month.

I'll pop over to Facebook and see which of you I follow. (Now you've not only lost your mind, but there are two of youl).
DEZMOND said…
A to Z actually stands for from Author to Zombie, it is a well kept secret :)
Anonymous said…
Busy lady! So many fun hops and fests to participate in and all part of the exposure piece. All the best to you-- I look forward to seeing you jumping about (I love Pat's blog!).
Jennifer Shirk said…
Yes, you HAVE lost your mind. LOL
Carol Kilgore said…
Alex - Thanks for the heads up :) I'll email you about a date. And May 20 is still a go for me.

Teresa - If they're together, no telling where they went.

Diane - At least everyone knows now :)

Dezmond - Now you tell me, LOL!

Julie - I'm gonna hitch a ride with that little pink bunny :)
Slamdunk said…
Sounds great Carol--I'll plan to bother you via email after May and my semester is done; if you still have a need for guests then.

Enjoy your week.
Anonymous said…
Sounds a great idea Carol. Most interesting post.

Yvonne.
Maria Zannini said…
If I find your mind anywhere I'll be sure to let you know.

I go easy on the social butterfly thing. It tends to get in the way of getting work done.
Luanne G. Smith said…
Oh, you are ambitious. Blog tour and A to Z? If I see your mind wandering down some dark road at night in April I shall snatch it up and send it straight back to you. :)

And I wish I were on Facebook, but I haven't quite worked up the energy for yet another social media page. :(
Gail said…
Congratulations and good luck with all the challenges ahead.
Carol Kilgore said…
Jennifer - I hope I find it soon :)

Slamdunk - Anytime!

Yvonne - Hope so :)

Maria - I write early before I work at socializing. I'm trying to cram another writing session into the afternoons, but I'm not too consistent at that.

Luanne - But you're way ahead of me on Goodreads. Sigh.
~Sia McKye~ said…
My word, Carol! That's a lot to be doing in a month.

As for A-z...don't know how I'll do it. Probably like I did last year. I publish on MWF so I'll follow the letters for those days. Subjects? phffft, haven't a clue.
Anonymous said…
I'll be out and about today so I'll check a few places to see if I can locate your mind for you. You are WAY too busy girl.
Johanna Garth said…
You do an amazing job with social media! Looking forward to following your A-Z posts :)
Emily R. King said…
Good for you! I'm in awe of all who do the A to Z. It's quite an undertaking! You'll do stellar. :)
Shelley Munro said…
Wow, you are going to be busy. This social butterfly thing can be exhausting. make sure you pace yourself and don't get sucked down the black hole!
Carol Kilgore said…
Gail - Thanks! Keep those good luck wishes coming, please :)

Sia - I have a plan that came to me in an instant. I have subjects for all the posts. And they will be short. Very short :)

Delores - I do hope you find it :)

Johanna - Cool! See above...you'll be done almost before you begin :)

Emily - I've always been in awe, too. I'm an A-Z virgin, so I'm doing all I can to make it easy on myself and the readers.

Shelley - I have a plan. The trick will be keeping to it, I think.
Sounds like you are a very busy lady. Congratulations upon your accomplishments and the work ahead. Sounds great.
Unknown said…
Yep, you've lost your mind. But good luck with your schedule.
My mind and your mind may have been lost together because I've signed up as well. Eeek! This is not my first time, so really I should know better :P
Carol Kilgore said…
Brenda Kay - Thanks. Much work ahead, LOL!

Wendy - Thanks. I need those good luck wishes :)

Lynda - LOL! Yes, you should :)
CATachresis said…
My goodness! A packed ful post!! BTW I have a spare mind going if you're interested!!?? It's not doing me any good. It's looking for a new home!! ;)

I liked your page :)
Stina said…
Man, you are crazy, Carol. :D

I entertained doing the AtoZ challenge for maybe 1 second. It just seems like too much work, which will ultimately eat into my writing time.
Melissa said…
You'll be busy, but AtoZ will definitely be worth the blog traffic. Go go go! :D

You're posting for me. I don' see why I can't return the favor. Of course, I have no ideal what I'd write about (assuming you'd even want me on your blog - LOL).
You think you have lost your mind but less wait till you get a few days into the challange and see how you feel.......lol You may decide you have gone completely mad....lol
Carol Kilgore said…
CATachresis - Wonderful! Email it to me ASAP :)

Stina - I'm going to be promoting the first two weeks anyway, so I figured what were two more. Ask me again in May, LOL!

Melissa - Exactly. I'll send you an email.

Jo-Anne - My fear :)
Whew, talk about a social butterfly! If I had all that stuff to do, I'd be wanting to crawl back into the cocoon again.
You are going to be super busy!
You must try to pre-write your A toZ posts, that will make it more manageable...

Btw, I've finished reading In Name Only... it's a great sory! Looking forward to the next one!
... sorry about the typo... it should be "story"
Aaarrgh!
Ciara said…
I must be insane, too. :)
Yep, I'm signed up for the A-Z challenge.
Jayne said…
Oh that crazy A-Z challenge! I really enjoyed the year I did it. Am thinking of also signing up this year but if I did I would have to pre-plan as much as possible, especially as I am away for a week in April. Still debating... but it is lots of fun. You'll love it, I'm sure!
Unknown said…
Wow, so much exciting news. I would love to do a guest post to help you out. I know what you mean about the workload. I'm doing A-Z this year too. I'll find a date and get back to you by email.
Mason Canyon said…
With all that you've got going on, how can you say you've lost your mind. That's way too much happening. Maybe it's just trying to escape. Looking forward to all your activities.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress
Southpaw said…
Woof! The A-Z challenge is a big one. Best of luck with that AND the blog tour!
Carol Kilgore said…
Susan - Keeps me out of trouble :)

Michelle - I'm so glad you liked In Name Only! Thanks for telling me :)

Ciara - Two peas in a crazy pod :)

Jayne - I already know what each of my posts will be about. And they will be short.

Clarissa - Cool!
Carol Kilgore said…
Mason - I think I found a hole in the fence....

Southpaw - I need it! Thanks :)
All the best with the challenge.

Looking forward to your posts.

Nas
Jennie Bennett said…
Um, I think I might be crazy too,becasue I'm considering taking the time to join. A-Z as well. We shall see...
Carol Kilgore said…
Nas - Thanks!

Jennie - We're all in it together!
LD Masterson said…
Okay, I seem to be properly connected to both Facebook pages.

And don't worry about losing your mind. They're overrated anyway.
Carol Kilgore said…
LD - Yay! Thank you :)
Good to know about minds, LOL!
Unknown said…
Cool! I didn't realize you had an additional fb page. Now I'm following both. :) And I'm really excited about the possibility of hosting the hut, but I'm not confident enough to do a giveaway. Perhaps something later in the year? I need to develop some ideas, and then I'll contact you! Hope you're having a great week.
Carol Kilgore said…
Raquel - Cool. Thanks for the FB followings :)

I'm excited you want to blog with me. I'll be waiting for your email :)
Arlee Bird said…
Glad to hear that you'll be joining us for all the fun from A to Z! You'll love it!

Lee
Have you ever compiled a life soundtrack?
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
If you're doing a blog tour, that's perfect. Do a 26-stop blog tour and find a way to use the letter for the link you're doing for each stop. If you do a post and send people to other blogs, you may not get as many people to click your links.

Just an idea.

I'd be happy to have you visit if you want to do a guest post with some writing advice. Would that work for you?
Carol Kilgore said…
Arlee - I'll either love it or be a sweaty, whimpering mess curled in the corner :)

Theresa - I'll email you!
Sounds like you've got a lot on! I usually do A-Z, but find I don't get any work done other than blogging and visiting blogs, so I'm giving it a miss this year. I will however, come visit other doing the challenge to cheer you all on!
Carol Kilgore said…
Charmaine - That's pretty much what I expect. I'm hoping to keep my early writing session, but that may not be possible. I'd planned to spend those first two weeks doing promotion anyway, so I thought I'd give it a try.
Unknown said…
Good for you, Carol. Jumping in and doing things is the way to go. Good luck. See you in the AZ Challenge.

Jan at Website
Beyond Acadia
Carol Kilgore said…
Thanks, Jan. Nice to meet you!
Johanna Garth said…
Holy cow! March madness is going to be extended into April!!
Carol Kilgore said…
Yep :)
I hope come visit...pay no attention to the white jacket that laces my arms to my sides.
Shelly said…
Kudos to you for being able to keep up with all of that! Solomon's Compass looks really good~
Carol Kilgore said…
Shelly - It's amazing to what lengths writers will go to keep from writing, LOL! Seriously, Live-In Handyman has promised to take over home duties during April. We'll have to see how he holds up :)
So much going on! I don't know how you keep it all straight?

Best of luck with all the happenings!

Heather
Lydia Kang said…
Sure, April will be crazy but you'll make so many connections and have fun!
Carol Kilgore said…
Heather - This was caught in my spam folder. I'm barely hanging on - LOL!
Carol Kilgore said…
Lydia - I saw this in my spam folder yesterday with Heather's. I thought I clicked it to publish, too, but it didn't show up and was still in the spam folder today. But today I have success!

You're right :)
Crazy and fun!

.