A to Z Challenge Reflection Post

I survived the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
Congratulations to all the other survivors.
A big thank you to everyone who stopped by during April with your words of support and encouragement.

A special thank you to the A to Z team. You guys are awesome!

The Madlab Post - Nicole Ayers

Tossing It Out - Arlee Bird

Amlokiblogs - Damyanti Biswas
Alex J. Cavanaugh - Alex J. Cavanaugh
Life is Good - Tina Downey
Cruising Altitude 2.0 - DL Hammons
Retro-Zombie - Jeremy Hawkins
The Warrior Muse - Shannon Lawrence
The QQQE - Matthew MacNish

Leave it to Livia - Livia Peterson

No Thought 2 Small - Konstanz Silverbow
Breakthrough Blogs - Stephen Tremp

Spunk on a Stick - L. Diane Wolfe

This is the 2013 A to Z Challenge Reflection post. It's another way to visit more participants and see what everyone thought of the Challenge. Sign up on the linky list and let everyone know what your experiences were last month.

One of my favorite blogs to visit is Heather M. Gardner's. Her theme was Stormy the Weather Gnome's bucket list. It was hilarious! She also recently signed a contract to have her book, MAGUIRE'S CORNER published! Congratulations, Heather. On the final day of the Challenge, Heather bestowed upon me the Zombie Rabbit Award. I get to pass on this magnificent award to my ten favorite blogs from the Challenge. Thank you, Heather, and thank you to the ten bloggers who entertained me during April with your awesome posts.

1) Nick Wilford - wrote an amazing story about an angel with words supplied each day by his readers.

2) M. Pepper Langlinais - had intriguing snippets of her characters Peter and Charles (from her book St. Peter in Chains) traveling the world and looking for a place to settle down.

3) Elise Fallson - an A to Z of "ology" words. People study and collect the strangest things.

4) Lily - follows Spawn's descent into madness with his plans for world domination. Hilarious!

5) Sandy - excellent traveling tips and sharing her adventures.

6) Julie Flanders - her theme was Alaska inspired by her book Polar. I've always wanted to go there!

7) Mark Means - a whole month of obscure comic book characters. Even my geekery was put to the test!

8) Al Diaz - a tour of his magnificent dragon's cave and dwarf cheerleaders.

9) Shannon Lawrence - an A to Z of history's mysteries. Absolutely fascinating. Just up my alley.

10) Mina Lobo - an enthralling A to Z of aphrodisiacs. I learned so much. Made notes!

Wicked Wednesday - A to Z Challenge Reflection post

A lot of April went by in a blur, but I had a fantastic time with the A to Z Challenge. I met so many new wonderful folk and discovered some awesome blogs. Everyone did a fantastic job. A big thank you to the A to Z team.

Tossing It Out (Arlee Bird)

Amlokiblogs (Damyanti Biswas)

Alex J. Cavanaugh (Alex J. Cavanaugh)

Life is Good (Tina Downey)

Cruising Altitude 2.0 (DL Hammons)

Retro-Zombie (Jeremy Hawkins)

The Warrior Muse (Shannon Lawrence)

The QQQE (Matthew MacNish)

Author Elizabeth Mueller (Elizabeth Mueller)

Pearson Report (Jenny Pearson)

No Thought 2 Small (Konstanz Silverbow)

Breakthrough Blogs (Stephen Tremp)Coming Down The Mountain (Karen Jones Gowen)

You guys are amazing!

My experience with the Challenge was phenomenal. I wrote a paranormal romance story that stretched out over the month. I never expected the reaction I received. I hoped I could entertain a few people, but wow. I'm at a loss for words. So many people loved the story. It makes me blush, feel warm and fuzzy, and boosts my fragile writer's ego. Your comments and encouragement made me smile every day.

I wasn't going to publish my story after the Challenge, but so many of you are encouraging me to do so. So with the help of my fantastic friend and critique partner, Cherie Reich, I'll be self-publishing the story. It will be cleaned up, a little will be added, and it shall be named Fearless.

(This little self-publishing bit will be practice to prepare me for my series of novellas.)


I just have to get a good image for the cover. Does anyone have a stuffed hippo willing to do some posing for me?!


What I loved about the Challenge: Meeting people and discovering new blogs. Seeing what surprises my friends had in store. The writing advice and awesome stories. Learning new things. And, of course, the comments on my blog.


What frustrated me about the Challenge: While the good greatly outweighs the bad, a few things made me relieved the Challenge was over. It consumed a lot of my free time. There were so many blogs to check out, I didn't get a chance to visit them all. I couldn't keep up with visiting people from the Challenge and visit the blogs I regularly follow. I'm afraid those who didn't participate in the Challenge might have felt a bit neglected, and I'm sorry.


What might help those frustrations: Perhaps the Challenge could divide the various blogs into groups. I'm not sure how you would want to do this. Maybe writers, photographers, artists, jewelers, etc. Or by general themes like stories, poems, photos, people, trivia, movies, etc. Though I was happy to meet all sorts of people, I was most looking to meet other writers.


Will I be doing the A to Z Challenge again next year? Yes. Most definitely yes.