Carly's Ramblings Blog - Style

Winter Solstice, Necessities & Author Blogs

Today`s blogs....

Blog City – Day 294

Now that we've had the winter solstice, how does the official beginning of winter make you feel?

There is no snow left and it is supposed to be raining... what winter? The only thing that makes it winter is the longer nights. Christmas Eve is supposed to be raining and +10 degrees Celsius. It should be below zero by now with a good covering of snow that hides the grass. It is snowing in Timmins, Ontario! There is freezing rain in my old home town - New Liskeard, Ontario.

Winter is my least favourite season. Cold and long, Dark.

Welcome To My Reality - Week Fifty - Three

1. Other than the obvious necessities required to sustain life, what is something you absolutely cannot live without?

Love and connection are important. We are social beings... even those of us with a bent to introspection and introversion. Sometimes being with others is all we need to raise our spirits. We need others.

Beyond that, I would say books and pen and paper to write.

2. What do you think about author websites and blogs? Do you have a favourite author blog/website that you visit regularly? If so, what draws you to their site? What do you think authors should include in their blogs? What would you include in yours if you ever decided to develop your author platform?

I quite like them. I visit a few of them occasionally. Jill Shalvis is one I regularly venture to as I enjoy her blog. Her website reflects the type of person she is and her books have a similar authentic honesty to them. She is not afraid to be vulnerable and open to her public. She keeps her loved ones protected by calling her girls - Oldest, Middle and Youngest. Her husband is Alpha Man. Her blog has her many adventures... she lives in an area where bears are in the area. She has animals and her family fosters animals... her house is a flux of interesting bits that she relates with her humorous style. I can almost certainly count on a chuckle whenever I visit.

I think the website does well when it is approachable and friendly. A reflection of the authors themselves and the books they write. Their books are listed and a couple of authors have a list of book lists that can be printed out. Information about upcoming books are good as is a chance to read an excerpt.

Here are a couple of authors I follow:
http://jillshalvis.com/
http://www.carlyphillips.com/
http://lorifoster.com/

This one is a little different:
http://www.jamespatterson.com/index.php#.VJoe7V4ALk