Shout Out Thursday

1. Shout Out to Twitter who has claimed another victim. Just last week my very own Rockstar agent @Ginger_Clark has pulled on her Tweet pants and joined the revolution. Yay! Now I can stalk interact with her in amusing 140 character spurts instead of just sending her an email. Wait, why would I do that?

2. Shout Out to a new writing exercise my Purgie Pals and I have developed. In case you don't remember posts like this and this, I belong to an online writer's community on the Absolute Write Forums thread known as Purgatory. This week we are launching the First Annual Great Purgatory Mash-Up. Basically, participants submit 250-350 words from whatever the hell they want and then the administrator (yeah, that would be me, Ms. Big Mouth over here) randomly and anonymously assigns another participant to continue the scene with an additional 250-350 words. Then I post them so everyone can guess who the authors were and comment on the continuity, styles, themes, or something equally as semi-intelligent. Personally, I think it will be a great way to intrinsically understand how others view and internalize your writing...oh, and it should be good for some laughs. Check back here for updates as I start posting the Mashes!

3. Speaking of online writing communities, Shout Out to The Enchanted Inkpot whom I'm very honored and privileged to have joined. The Enchanted Inkpot is an online community of readers and writers of middle grade and young adult fantasy, and even though I haven't been a member for long, I'm tickled magenta to have found yet another group of fun, intelligent and supportive writers at all stages of the game. Um, how am I so lucky? So my first big contribution to the blog will be next month when I interview the amazingly talented RJ Anderson whose debut novel Faery Rebels: Spell Hunter hit the U.S. last month. I'm excited! And nervous! And nervous! And nervous! (Did I mention I'm a little bit nervous?)

4. Finally, a Shout Out to my rapidly (in years only) evaporating youth. Friday night I'll be attending the Nine Inch Nails / Jane's Addiction concert in the Bay Area. These are two of my favorite bands, bands that got me through many tenuous periods of my early-90's high school and college career. And while I've managed to see them both before, this will be the first time since...well, since I started to slide down the other side of 30. Does this make me an aging hipster? I fucking hope not. I see those saggy butt skinny jeans and 3 week beard growth popping out from the neckline of an ironic T and I'm swinging freely, hoping to knock out some teeth. Nonetheless, I'm so friggin' exciting about this concert! I only pray that I haven't become one of those Tommy Bahama-wearing douches with the middle-aged ponytail who still wants to "rock out" when Paul Simon plays the Orange County Fair.

You'd tell me, right? If that was me? You wouldn't leave me hanging, would you?

*stink eye*