Pay It Forward Blogfest

Howdy, folks. If you're new to this blog and came here by way of the Pay It Forward Blogfest, welcome and here's a little bit more about myself. First off, like you, I'm just a simple writer trying to make my way in the publishing universe. I'm also a published sportswriter on hockey with credits in print and mainstream sites, along with a long-running blog that I dutifully retired earlier this year to concentrate on other writing endeavors. My other non-fiction publishing credits include music magazines and local bar/restaurant guidebooks, and I also write video game reviews for RotoRob; of course, this journey is fiction, so that's not really that relevant. I'm also a freelance business writer, and I build WordPress websites with my Brilliant Writer Pal Sierra Godfrey.

(You get bonus points if you caught my Star Wars reference in there.)

And yes, I know the irony of a WordPress developer using a Blogspot blog. That's an example of sticking with a late-night rash decision, though I do plan on porting over to something more substantial in the near future. Probably should have done that before Blogfest, huh?

Anyway, a few more random facts about me:

• I like cats and dogs equally and we have both in our household
• I believe male writers can get published without nuclear threats, lawyers, or ancient civilizations in their plots
• I'll take under-produced indie rock over mega-produced pop any millisecond of the year
• I think the "good" Star Wars movies are episodes 3, 4, and 5 rather than 4, 5, and 6
• I have a very low tolerance for jerks of the asshole variety (and I swear a lot)
• The last three concerts I went to were Ladytron, U2, and The Raveonettes. Two of those were fantastic, one was surprisingly bad.
• And unlike my dad, I think Picard is a far, far better captain than Kirk

If you stick around here long enough, you'll get a taste of all of those points. Also, note that I don't comment nearly as much as I should on other writer blogs, mostly because anything hosted on Blogspot is blocked by my office firewall. In other words, my Google Reader gets a very healthy workout every day.

Now, as to three blogs from Pay It Forward Blogfest worth checking out...well, really, you should check out all of them if you have time. I used some semi-strategy:

1) Selected based on blog title: Brits In The USA -- Because I'm a Anglophile and love the British indie music scene (Jarvis Cocker forever). I also lived in London for two summers, including one summer where I bartended at a gay club.

Recent Post: Reasons to Unfriend -- which is very applicable to me right now, as I've FINALLY opened a Google+ account and have done absolutely nothing on it.

2) Selected using a random number generator (beep boop borp): #191 Cherie Reich

Recent Post: "You people terrify me but I still like you"...words that every writer has to have felt from time to time, right?

3) Selected by randomly pointing somewhere on the screen: #26 Stephanie Loree

Recent Post: Follower Friday & Pay It Forward BlogHop. My inner monologue "Let's see what this blog has to offer, oh crap, did she just make a reference to Star Wars: The Old Republic?"

Go forth -- read, share, and enjoy! (And follow/subscribe too!)