In Praise of Others: Blog Hop 2014

It is 2:47 pm

  Its a hot and humid day here in SE Michigan,the rain is coming in both showers and downpours.
I have my ceiling fan on for the first time and am enjoying a cup of iced coffee ( dedicated to Debbie Rochon) while I am typing this entry.
  So I got a message from a fellow blogger,Paula,who just recently found my blog through a very supportive blogging group on Facebook called Awesome Bloggers. In her message,she asked me to partake in my first blog hop.
 While I had seen the term before,I didn't know what it was until Paula explained it to me. Then I was quite honored because what it is....its a invitation to not only share your blog but other writers who have touched or inspired you in some way.
   So I decided to do the blog hop and I hope you enjoy it and please,please support the writers I am highlighting,they are much better at this then I am.....

My deepest thanks to Paula Parker and her cool blog Poems & Quotes Finder.


1. What am I working on?

Right now I am working on my next "8 Questions with....." interview. This was a series I started when I blogged on MySpace. I ask random people to be interviewed,send them 8-10 questions and let them answer in their own voices.
The interview I am working on now is my biggest one so far and I am pretty excited to get it up and share it with folks.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

My blog is a personal one and I tend to write about a lot of different topics. I don't post everyday and I am starting to have guest bloggers come visit when adds depth and a fresh POV for my regular readers. Plus I am the only blogger I know who has had a panther and now a cheetah as a mascot.


3. Why do I write/create what I do?

I started The Inner Circle blog on Facebook but since FB doesn't really support blogging,I moved it here. I started writing as a way to cope with my wife Lori's cancer and if you go back and start from the beginning,you can how our journey went...with its highs and lows. I never really shared my blog for the first couple of years,it was just my way to release the pain I was going through as Lori got more ill.



4. How does your writing/creating process work?

Good question and one I ask writers such as Jan Romes whom I interviewed here.
I don't have a set agenda,I write when I feel the urge to,when my emotions and sadness start to really invade my safe area,I need to write to release that. I am somewhat self isolated now so I write about my new favorite section of my blog,Dollar Tree Theater,which seems to have tickled a lot of folks.
I write in my den,often with music playing and a glass of green tea or iced coffee. Once in a while the cheetah will come in for a minute of playtime and then off back into writing.

The three blogs I picked to write about mean a lot to me,the writers are friends and have walked with me through my journey with Lori. They have comforted me,talked with and supported me in many ways and I love them all....

http://sanctuaryofstyle.net/ Tiffany Hendra is one very special woman. She was a hard working actress in Hollywood when she decided to change course and start helping women to empower themselves by creating the Sanctuary of Style. Tiffany films webisodes from her home highlighting the best in fashion tips,smart shopping tips and encouraging women to believe in themselves. 
So how does this apply to me I can hear you asking....
When Lori had to go into chemotherapy,she lost her hair and had to wear a wig. I noticed a lot of women cancer patients struggled with looking cute and fashionable,they didn't want to seen as a sick person.
I emailed Tiffany and asked her if she could address this and sure enough,she produced a webisode of the Sanctuary of Style that covered how women could still rock it out despite their illness. 
Her blog is full of fun,positive,uplifting topics and she also runs several fun giveaways as well (I know,I won a book for Lori).

http://lisabadams.com/ I am drawn to Lisa Adams because of her spirit. While making my way around some cancer webpages,I came across her blog. I started reading it and I was moved very deeply by Lisa's courage and her frankness. Lisa is dying of breast cancer. And while she keeps fighting for life,she is candidly writing how her journey is going. Its a journey that is extremely personal for me as many of my long time readers know and many of my newer ones will eventually find out about.
  Lisa doesn't ask for pity,she is merely sharing what she is going through...I don't know how long she will be able to write her blog but I encourage you all to stop by and read her story.

http://www.brushbackpitch.com/author/brad-beneke/ While on the surface you may think Brad Beneke writes just a baseball blog but you wouldn't be more wrong. Brad is a superb poet,essayist and a modern day raconteur. I have known Brad for many a years as we have many common interests such as family,music,that Derek Jeter is the best shortshop to ever play the game..
What I enjoy about Brad's writing is the seamless way he combine passion and compassion in describing the human condition that we are living today.
We both have been touched by different levels of tragedy but have overcome (Brad a LOT better then me) and are looking for the good in people and in life. Brad writes from the heart and his poems are blistering in both heat and tempered by a good sense of humor.




Thanks for dropping by for my first blog hop. 

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