Community Spotlight 2

Hello, friends!

I don't know about you, but I am sooo happy to be back in my normal routine. I love having company, preparing for and celebrating holidays with family, and participating in special events. Nevertheless, when January comes and the pace slows down, I heave a big sigh of relief. January is my month to remember. From the week before Thanksgiving until last Sunday night, I was in celebration mode, now I'm ready to sit here with you in the coffee shop and talk about what happened while we were gone. If this runs a little long, today, please bear with me. For once, I'm not in a rush and I have lots to share.

The first order of business is to tell you the name of the winner of Michael N. Marcus' book, Become a Real self-Publisher. Berta Dickerson is the winner of our December 2009 drawing. Congratulations, Berta!

Some of you may remember that when Berta joined our community, I didn't have much to share about her. Since then, I've learned much more. Berta was in an accident that severed her spinal cord at C-4 yet, miraculously, has function at C-5/6 and sensation far below that level. She's independent; which is a good thing since she spends most days alone writing and preparing for her ministries. She's an active pastor's wife, an adult Sunday School teacher, and a Women's Bible Study leader - as well as a Christian speaker and author. Her website is at http://www.bertadickerson.com/. Why don't you drop by and sign her guestbook?

Meet Our New Community Members

What a pleasure it is to see that we've had to pull up three tables so that all of us can sit together. Let me (officially) introduce you to the new members of our community.

Please welcome "Lounge Daddy" (LD has this thing about extraneous quotation marks, so I couldn't resist…) I don't know his real name, but he is a libertarian Catholic with nine children, so I doubt that he has much time to "lounge." :>D (OK, OK, I'll quit.) You can read his thoughts about politics and other things at http://www.withoutadjectives.com/.

I also want to introduce Patty Sherry. Patty hails from New Jersey. She and her partner are co-authoring a self-help book. (They do seminars and personal coaching.) Patty blogs about love and life at http://abcpatty.wordpress.com.

Next, meet CM (Caroline) Pointer. Caroline is a geneologist who lives in Texas. She maintains three blogs about families and family histories. Check out my favorite one at http://yourfamilystory-cmpointer.blogspot.com/. Welcome. Caroline.

Other Personal Notes

Matilda McCloud, (aka Mary Jo Marsh for those who read her articles on this blog) has a revamped blog at http://songofcrocusmoon.blogspot.com. Stop by and congratulate her on winning one of Rachelle Gardner's prizes. I was much amused by her essay about winning.

Also, take a look a J Lopez's new blog at http://jreborn.blogspot.com. He's taking New Year's resolutions to a whole new level. I'm sure that he could use some encouragement along the way.

If anyone else started something new since you were in our community spotlight, please leave a comment so we can celebrate with you.

Last note:

Patty Sherry, you may want to query the latest person to be added to our N-F A-List. Jennifer Lawler joined The Salkind Agency, last year. Her website is at http://www.jenniferlawler.com. She blogs about the writing life at http://www.jenniferlawler.com/wordpress. She is seeking: "Self-Help and How-To books, including books on personal growth, sports, crafts, self-care and home-care. Jennifer also has a lively interest in history and narrative nonfiction, including memoirs."

Now, why don't you share what's up with you or tell us one of your New Year's resolutions. We've got lots of time, today.