Pitch Bloggers

When I started blogging, it was just for me to record the happenings of my family’s day to day life.  Then I learned about people making money while blogging and looked into that for a while, but after finding the world of review bloggers, I knew I’d found something I’d really enjoy doing and thanks to Trisha and all the ladies at the MomDot forum, I slowly started making connections that had people sending me products to review instead of just picking up things around the house to review.

After that started taking off, this blog was born as I wanted a place to do only book reviews.  Thanks to Trisha, I am now looking at being able to make even more contacts and provide you with a wider variety of book reviews.  How?  Through a new company – Pitch Bloggers. Pitch Bloggers is a place for mom reviewers and PR reps to join together – to connect – to provide the blogosphere with more and better reviews.

To PR Reps, Pitch Bloggers says:

We are all about helping you cut through the clutter to find the right mix of mom bloggers and tools you need for a successful campaign. www.pitchbloggers.com can assist you by:

• Sharing best practices for blogger outreach in our Multimedia Mommies: a Marketing and Public Relations Guide
• Connecting you with the right mom bloggers for your campaign in real time
• Helping you devise creative, memorable social media campaigns
• Providing you with a one-stop location for articles, blogs, Web sites and other resources to keep you abreast of social media campaigns and advancements

To Bloggers, Pitch Bloggers is about joining together, giving you the connections to receive products, advice to make your blog more successful. Bloggers can join for free; however, it’s not an automatic membership.  You must first apply and sign an ethics agreement before having access to the vast majority of the helpful advice and connections available at Pitch Bloggers through the Pitch Bloggers forum.

PR Reps and Bloggers – anyone interested in Review Blogging – go check out Pitch Bloggers.  With the site just starting up, you’ll want to become a part of this from the beginning.

NOTICE!! NOTICE!!

I’m excited to be a part of a new blogging project – The Noticer Project. What is The Noticer Project?

The concept is based on a new book that will be out in late April called The Noticer by Andy Andrews. The book is about gaining a fresh perspective on life by looking at the small things that make it good. The first step to participating in The Noticer Project is recognizing five people who have made a special impact on your life.

“In times like these, it’s important not to get wrapped up in what we don’t have or what we’re lacking, but instead to focus on the simple things in life that give us hope,” says Andrews, an internationally renowned speaker and author of The Traveler’s Gift. “It is most often our friends, family, teachers, spiritual leaders and heroes who truly inspire us. With The Noticer Project, I want to encourage folks everywhere to give the gift of noticing someone today, and gain perspective on their own lives in the process.”

This task proved to be a challenge for me as I think I’ve been blessed with many amazing people in my life, but this is my list (in no particular order):

My Grandfather. My grandfather was the one person in this world that I knew thought I was wonderfully perfect. You know that one person that thinks you can do no wrong and wants to give you the world? For me that person was my grandfather. This probably sounds petty when I put it in writing, but I don’t mean it that way. With my grandfather, there was never any doubt to anyone just how special I was to him. Yes, I was the favorite grandchild. Yes, he would buy me anything I asked for (luckily I had great parents who kept me grounded so I never asked for much). For 20 years, I literally was the center of my grandfather’s world, and I will always be grateful for that. I think everyone deserves to have that person in their life. That person that you know no matter how bad you mess up, no matter what, will never ever be anything but proud of you. Yes, that largely describles my parents and other grandparents – even aunts and uncles, but it was different with my grandfather. I wasn’t just one of the children, grandchildren, or nieces – I was THE grandchild – the chosen one, and I have missed him more than words can say since his passing 9 years ago.

My Parents. I really didn’t want this to just be a list of 5 of my closest family members so I’m going to group this together. I have 3 wonderful parents – yes 3 (my mom remarried when I was young so I’m lucky enough to have 2 dads). My parents have always been there for me, and I’ve always known (like with my grandfather) that they were proud of me. I can admit this now at the age of 30, that I’m glad they didn’t baby me, didn’t give me everything I asked for, and set high expectations. I was grounded for B’s, had an earlier curfew than most of my friends, I had to work if I wanted a car, and I had to pay for my education. There have been times (of course) that I think it would have been nice to have them relax on a few of those expectations, but ultimately I know I’m a better person because of their love and expectations.

My Children. Yes. I guess they didn’t choose to be a part of my life, but they may have had the biggest impact on my life. Almost nine years ago, my daughter was born and from that moment on, I do feel that I became a different person, a better person. Every day I thank the Lord for her even though the situation was awkward, the Lord did know what he was doing. She was just what I needed and still need to make my life complete. My teenager came into my life just a couple years ago – a young girl who was working hard to make everything of her life that she could, but life wasn’t really working with her. She deserved so much more than the opportunities she had in her present situation and so we invited her into our family. The work was done, we went to court, and I became the guardian of a teenager. In the last two years, she has brought me nothing but happiness. I’ve known her as both her guardian/mother figure, her teacher, and her debate coach, and in each she has proven nothing but superior. I love her as if she’d been with me her entire life.

My “Other” Parents. I’m avoiding names here, but if they were to read this, they would know who they were. At around 10, a couple came into my life. They worked with my dad.  Over the years they became more than coworkers – they became FAMILY.  It is hard to explain this relationship.  As I grew up, they were like a mixture of a parents and grandparents to me. As I’ve grown into adulthood, our relationship has evolved into that of friends also.  When I went to work at my first teaching job, she became my mentor and coworker.  This is such a hard relationship to describe – that of a friend/parent/grandparent, but that’s what they are, which makes them so special.  Though life keeps us from seeing each other too often now, I still think that without their influence for the past 20 years, my life would have not been complete.

My Friends.  Ok, so maybe I’m cheating, but I’m grouping some very important people here into this list and counting them as one.  There are really 5 current friends that I would include in this list.  All of them but one are in education – they all teach high school and a variety of subjects.  There’s a Math teacher, an English teacher, a Speech/Theatre/Health teacher, and a Social Studies teacher, and then there’s one that isn’t in education, but he thinks he may coach baseball one day.  Each in their own ways, play big parts in my life – they each listen when I need to really get something off my chest, if I need to go out for a drink, there’s a couple of them that do that for me. When I just need a distraction from life’s current stresses, these 5 people can always chill me out and put life back into perspective. I love each of them dearly.

Now there you go.  Those are my “5 Important People.”  It would be great if you participated too.  Join in The Noticer Project and find a way to acknowledge 5 Influential People in your life.

Also – Join in the Facebook Group or Follow on Twitter!!!

Coming April 27 – A Review of The Noticer and your own chance to win a copy of The Noticer!!

Meet Lucy Adams & Win a Cap – ENDED

Our Grand Opening is starting late due to an online break I took, but we are starting with an awesome book review and prize. The book is If Mama Don’t Laugh It Ain’t Funny by Lucy Adams and was a blast to read. I’m so excited to be introducing you to Lucy during her If Mama Blog Tour 2009.

I felt an instant connection with Lucy as soon as I found out she was a teacher; however she teaches much younger kids than I do. (She’s a second grade teacher, and I’m a high school teacher.)  She graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in education and continued her education earning a Master of Science in psychology from Augusta State University.

Lucy is also a syndicated columnist and her articles Life’s Little Lessons are published in newspapers across Tennessee and Georgia.  Lucy has been married for 15 years and is the mother of four children. In addition to being a teacher, an author, a newspaper columnist, a wife, and a mother, Lucy also maintains a blog.

She is a true southern lady (currently residing in Thomson, Georgia), and as a lifetime Texan, so many of her stories hit so close to home.  If you are a southerner, each of the stories in If Mama Don’t Laugh, will hit home.  I found with almost every story that I could relate the stories to someone in my community.  

Lucy was nice enough to give me an interview. Enjoy getting to know Lucy Adams (and keep reading for your chance to win a prize from Lucy).

How did you get started writing?

My high school friends would tell you that they always knew I would be a writer. My college friends would tell you they were all surprised. My husband says I’m not the same woman he married; that it’s like my alien inside took over.

I always wanted to write. I sort of gave up on it, though, after high school, seeking to do more practical things with my education and my life. It wasn’t until I was 34, with four children ages 6 and under and a husband who said we needed extra income, that I got up the courage to act on it.

I typed up sample columns and went to my local newspaper and asked if I could write for them. Then I called back the editor again, and again, and again, until he said, “Yes, if you’ll quit bothering me. I’ve got work to do.”

Now, going a day without writing is like going a day without oxygen.

What inspired you to take your previous writings and turn them into a book?

So many things inspired me to write If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny. My husband stayed after me about doing it. Readers of my weekly newspaper column frequently asked me when I planned to write a book.

The turning point came when a publisher called me and asked if I was interested in writing a how-to book on parenting. Wow! I was flattered. But when I finally got my puffed up ego to sit down and be quiet, the reasonable, logical side of me said that it was dangerous territory to trod. After all, my own children aren’t fully cooked. I’ve yet to see the end product of my own parenting. Who am I to tell someone else how to do it? I had to call the publisher and decline the invitation. While on the phone, however, with newfound confidence clutched in my sweaty palms, I pitched the idea for If Mama. He liked it.

If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny was also inspired by my need to prove that life is more than a collection of chaos bookended by rare moments of calm. Every moment counts. Every minute of every day has a purpose. I have found that by learning to live in the little moments, I open myself to the biggest lessons and the best rewards. And, of course, humor. The smallest sliver of a second contains a complete journey. So much more happens between loads of laundry than wiping noses, folding shirts, and scrubbing the kitchen floor. In fact, most of life happens at the same time that I’m driving carpool, cleaning toilets, and scorching spaghetti.

How did you narrow down what stories to put in your book?

I read and re-read my stories so many times in the writing and editing process. One of my first criteria for including a story in the book was that it still had to evoke laughter or tears from me after looking at it so many times.

I also selected stories that received a lot of comments from my newspaper column readers. There’s no better way to gauge audience approval than through direct feedback.

How does your family feel about their lives being published?

I have to admit, there’ve been a couple of pieces I published that sent my husband over the edge. He has actually given me a list of things I can’t print about him in the newspaper. For example, I can never write that he “squealed like a school girl.”

And every now and then my parents will question something I put in print. My friends laughingly say things like, “Uh oh, you’re not going to put that in the paper are you?”

But my children seem to go out of their way to give me topics to write about. I even find myself lecturing them on not doing brainless things just to see if I’ll write about them.

What is your favorite story in If Mama Don’t Laugh?

My favorite story is “I Hope I’m Getting Smaller,” about an interaction with my then 4 year-old daughter about loving “bad guys” and what God would want us to do. We shared an amazing moment when I had a revelation about my relationship with my daughter, as well as about how she and I both understand God. It was such a profound experience; tears fill my eyes every time I read that story.

Another of my favorites is about Noah, the three legged pig. But that story is best consumed a little bit at a time, so I won’t go into detail here.

What was the hardest part of putting together and publishing If Mama Don’t Laugh?

The hardest part was deciding that the manuscript was finished. Every time the publisher sent me a proof, I sent back a mark-up with changes. Finally the editor quit sending me proofs and declared the manuscript done. Unfortunately, I’m only a perfectionist about my writing. The rest of my life is going to hell in a hand basket.

What has been the most exciting moment in the If Mama process?

Doing television interviews. For one of the interviews, my husband and kids came to the studio and watched. Then my host gave us a VIP tour of the television station which included letting my kids play with the green screen. Bobby Thomson, the baseball player who hit the shot heard round the world, was also being interviewed on the same program that day, so we got pictures and autographs.

If your readers only got one thing from If Mama Don’t Laugh, what would you want that to be?

That life is short, without a lot of big moments outside of marriage proposals, weddings, and children’s births. So it’s important to live it all in the everyday small moments. That’s where the marrow of our existence is.

Do you find yourself watching in your life for “stories?”

I don’t watch for them as much as other people do. Friends and family always point out what they think will make a good column subject.

Mostly, I find that when I’m not “looking” is when everything happens.

What process do you use for remembering these stories?

I keep a notebook and a pen with me at all times. Ideas suddenly come to me and I have to write them down or I’ll never remember them. I also have lots of scraps of paper stashed here, there, and everywhere with various notes. Sometimes writing a story is like piecing a puzzle together, literally.

What’s in the future for Lucy Adams – another book? Expansion of the newspaper article?

I’m currently working on my second book of humor about the tight places and uncomfortable conversations in which we find ourselves; you know, like walking out of a bathroom with my skirt tucked in my panties. Look for it in the summer of 2010.

My blog series on Southern Girls Living Fearlessly will continue. I’m also working on turning it into a monthly column, and, in the future, a humorous book of off-center advice from a woman learning it as she goes.

You’ll find a brief review of If Mama Don’t Laugh over at my personal blog, All About Kimberly.  Want to purchase a copy of If Mama Don’t Laugh, It Ain’t Funny?  You can do that at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Books a Million. You can also purchase an autographed copy directly from Lucy at her If Mama site.

And now for the contest. Lucy has generously donated a If Mama Don’t Laugh baseball cap for one lucky reader.

So how do you win this contest?

REQUIRED ENTRY:

Visit http://www.ifmama.com/blog.php and make a relevant comment on Lucy’s blog. Then come back and tell me which post you commented on and what you said.

EXTRA ENTRIES:

**To earn these entries you must first complete the REQUIRED ENTRY**
**For each extra entry, you must leave an additional comment** 

1. Place my button in your sidebar (Grab it on the right sidebar) or add a text link
2. Subscribe to my feed
3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet this contest out! (you must leave a link to the tweet)
4. Add me to your Technorati favorites (leave your username)
5. Blog about this contest (WORTH 3 ENTRIES – LEAVE 3 COMMENTS) linking to this post and Lucy’s site.

But wait!  I’m upping the ante. For all the contests being posted over the next week, I’ll give you TWENTY (yes you hear right) TWENTY extra entries if you head over to MomCentral and vote for my blogging friend, Trisha, to win an Electrolux washer and dryer. She’s #8 strawberryred.  After you vote, come back and tell me you voted and leave your Mom Central username.  You can then comment 20 times for 20 entries for each of the grand opening prizes!

The Fine Print

• Must be a US Citizen
• Contest ends Friday, March 27 at Midnight CST.
• You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address.
• All entries will be verified before naming the winner.
• Winner has 72 hours to claim prize and then a new winner will be selected.

Want to Win Other If Mama Don’t Laugh Prizes?

Lucy is giving away an apron on her blog and you can have another chance at one of these nifty caps at 3 Garnets & 3 Sapphires.