May 14, 2012 – YA Chit Chat

A smile. An encouraging word. A thoughtful gesture. Each day people interact with us, help, and make our day a bit brighter and full. This is especially true in the Writing Community.

Take a second to think about writers you know, like the critique partner who works with you to improve your manuscript. The writing friend who listens, supports and keeps you strong when times are tough. The author who generously offers counsel, advice and inspiration when asked.

So many people take the time to make us feel special, don’t they? They comment on our blogs, re-tweet our posts, chat with us on forums and wish us Happy Birthday on Facebook.

Kindness ROCKS!

To commemorate the release of their book The Emotion Thesaurus, Becca and Angela at The Bookshelf Muse are hosting a TITANIC Random Act Of Kindness BLITZ. And because I think KINDNESS is contagious, I’m participating too!

The first person I pick is Jennifer M. Eaton. She is more than a beta reader. She is a fellow writer who understands the frustrations, the ups and downs, the joy…the rollercoaster ride of writing. She is an amazing person with a fantastic eye for catching boo boos and helping me keep my voice. I know it’s not much, Jen, but I’m going to send you a Crux bookmark. I know you’ll like and use it a lot, and since it’s signed by one of your fellow J. Taylor authors, I know you will cherish it. I will also continue to offer my time and efforts to help you along your journeys through life and writing. Thank you for everything.

I really appreciate Jennifer who blogs at http://jennifermeaton.com. Please visit her blog, introduce yourself and say ‘hi’.

To Julie Reece, author of Crux, I offer you endless hours of critiques, promotions of Crux, anything you need, I’ll do for you. I believe so much in Crux and think the world needs to read it, too. It truly is movie material and if I can do anything to get you there, I’ll do it. You’re beautiful, inside and out, and I’m honored to help you in any way I can.

I adore Julie and I would really appreciate it if you would stop by her website, tell her you saw her here and also check out the info on her YA novel, Crux! You’ll be glad you did and she’s such a sweetheart. She’ll be glad you dropped by.

Every day, women and children are abused and neglected and must find shelter from those who vowed to love and care for them. Elderly people are shunned, forced into nursing homes and care facilities, many of them rarely, if ever, visited by those they once cared for. Many of these people had to leave their personal belongings behind, including books and toys. Over the next few days, I will distribute some used books, both adult and children’s, to shelters and nursing homes in hopes of brightening their days, if just a little.

Do you know someone special that you’d like to randomly acknowledge? Don’t be shy–come join us and celebrate! Send them an email, give them a shout out, or show your appreciation in another way. Kindness makes the world go round. 🙂

Becca and Angela have a special RAOK gift waiting for you as well, so hop on over to The Bookshelf Muse to pick it up.

Have you ever participated in or been the recipient of a Random Act Of Kindness? Let me know in the comments!