Category Archives: Blogging and Other Fun

Blog Out Loud 2014! (And breath out)

Posted in Blogging and Other Fun, Bumpboobs, Fun, Life, Writing by

No one is home. That normally means this is the time for me to eat junk food en mass, but for two reasons I won’t be doing that: One . . . Ha! Junk food . . . in my sweet, sweet dreams of the past. And two, I’d rather write about BLOG OUT LOUD!

Dream Come True

Dream Come True

Yesterday Zsolt and I went to Ottawa’s very special event, Blog Out Loud. This is organized by a lovely lady named Lynn of Turtlehead, along with a group of volunteers and other bloggers to help her out, and has become a regular blogging tradition in the local area since 2009.

In past years, I’d see talk of this event pretty much always after it had happened. But this year, thanks to way more time spent on twitter than I should be spending, I caught the news! Not only did I catch the news, but I caught it in time to submit a post to the reading. 🙂

Amazingly the post was chosen (along with 10 other blogger’s posts) from over 60 entries.

Gosh, it’s challenging to choose a reading from 2013. Many of my blog posts don’t stand alone, and others touch on stuff that I just didn’t want to represent at an event like this. The part of me who is a “writer” needs space from the part of me that just . . . gets too much attention, I mean the cancer stuff.

Writer me is like, “no, cancer drama, you cannot play with Catherine today.” So I submitted a little post I wrote while on a train in Hungary about Zsolt’s friend. And it was picked.

Therefore . . .

Yesterday evening Zsolt and I rocked up to this beautiful church on Elgin Street, where the Writers Festival is being held. This year, BOLO has hooked up with the Ottawa International Writers Festival.

(A little side story about this festival. I used blog for the writing festival. Back in 2011 (?) when we first came to Canada, I really wanted to find the writing scene in Ottawa since we’d left my writing peeps in the UK. So, I volunteered to cover events and blog for the Ottawa International Writiers Festival. That was cool. Because of that experience I was able to attend several great events… I even sat right in front of Michael Smith while he went on about food porn, and grocery vs farms, and test kitchens. It was an accomplishment, in my mind, to be a part of this writing festival. Fast forward to yesterday night, and I was actually reading at that very festival. High Five!)

So, we get to the event and I’m stupid nervous. You’d think after attending about a million networking events with Sister Leadership, networking wouldn’t be scary. But it was. Maybe because I cared so damn much. You know, it’s easy to play it cool when there’s little to risk . . . but when you care, care, care about mixing and connecting and making actual connections with people you only see online, but really admire, casual cool just runs outta the room and leaves you there going, “ahhhugh?”

Therefore, we busied ourselves by looking at the books for sale. Zsolt was great. He is always great. We took pictures of covers that I liked, because it’s always good to notice eye-catching designs.

Then back to the mixing . . .

“Ahhhugh” was about all I said for the majority of the evening.

There were two rows of seats near the front, so I planted my butt down on the one with my name on it (AHH!) and relished that safe space.

BUT, I should say that I did meet a few people like Lynn herself (as warm and kind as I had anticipated), Tanya of Spydergrrl, (Tanya is doing a series on live tweeting at events, which I reckon is very useful and will be paying attention towards) and Laurie of Not Just About Cancer. (Along with many more talented and warm ladies after the event ended, and it was so much easier to mix. I don’t know why . . .maybe the live tweets helped? Thank you for the twitter hellos! They were really, really nice to read. Ottawa is awesome not just for its pockets of culture, but for the nice people living here too.)

I should also say that I was so happy to see Laurie – having followed her online through #bcsm and her blog for so long and admiring her and recently chatting with her via skype, to see her in person was such a pleasure. She was wearing this gorgeous red dress, and looked absolutely beautiful.

Anyhow . . . we settled in for the readings, and Lynn introduced us bloggers to a large room full of people one by one.

I was third. It went well. At some point a choir (this being a church) began singing in another room as I read. Maybe that’s a good omen? Anyhow, I didn’t pass out. That’s all that really matters.

(One time I was working at the library in England and this tour group comes in. My manager is away, so I need to describe the library services at the Avenue. As I begin to talk, I find that I cannot breathe in. I talk and talk, the breathe is going out and out, my voice goes up and up. I literally had to choke out the words: “Can’t talk anymore.” The tour guide took over and I hid in the office until they left.)

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There is video footage of all readings, and as soon as it becomes available I’ll link it here for you to watch. The event itself wasn’t too long, so if you settle down with some tea and cookies, it’s really nice viewing to enjoy.

One thing I realized while listening to the bloggers read was that we’re good at being darn tootin’ vulnerable. Whether we are joking about parenthood, or discussing anxiety attacks, reflecting on loss or fear, talking mental illness, looking at judgement, or glorifying that moment of joy in a delicious beverage . . .

. . . the best of blogging contains stories of real life, and real, raw feelings.

Heck, listening to these blogs being read, I realized many of the bloggers I am awed by were probably struggling with the same nerves and social jitters. After all, blogging is a levelling field between extroversion and introversion, between shy and outgoing, between familiar and new. Sometimes that is hard to translate into personal encounters . . . or at least the first encounters.

That’s what I tell myself, this was the first time meeting so many of these ladies. Next time I’ll know them just that bit more, and will be just that bit more relaxed.

It was a good event. I look forward to the next one, and I look forward to meeting more of the fantastic talent this city offers. Geez, I just love blogging.

BOLO 2014!!! WOOOHOO! (Check out all the wonderful readers/bloggers and the BOLO event here)

Next up: Friday. eep.

The “Blog” Blog Tour

Posted in Blogging and Other Fun, Novels and Stories, Writing by

Hello and happy Monday! I’m actually writing this on the previous Friday, but am imagining it’s Monday for the sake of timing. Let’s visualize Monday together: start of the week, five days till another mini two-day vacation, hung over from all that grocery shopping and cleaning you did on the weekend. I can see it now in my mind’s eye. To be honest, I work all day Saturday, so my conception of the weekend is blown to bits. However, for those working normal weeks, hopefully this Monday post provides a little distraction from that load of post-weekend emails you’re working through one-by-one. Take a long sip on your hot-pick-me-up-drink, and tuck into the reading!

This week I get the privilege of receiving the baton from Philippa over at A Feisty Blue Gecko. I’ve been a fan of her blog for quite some time. She takes such wonderful pictures and shares such touching stories. I think she and I have a similarity in our writing, in that we wear our hearts on our sleeves. It’s so much better that way.

Anyhow, I get this email from Philippa asking if I want to be part of a blog tour. Not a book tour (which I’m very slowly trying to arrange) but a “blog” blog tour, where a set of questions develop a life of their own, and jump blog to blog for writers to answer. It’s basically a chain letter except I get to talk about myself before passing it on to two other talented writers. (more on them to come!) So, here is a small interview between me and this travelling blog. It’s about writing, so we should get along very well.

Hey Catherine, I’m the Blog Blog Tour. Here’s my first question for you: What are you working on?

Nice to meet you, Blog Tour. What am I working on? Honestly, I’m mostly working on my book launch party at the moment. That’s a funny thing since The Adventures of Claire Never-Ending has been out since last December in 2013, BUT, back then I’d promised myself not to back out of having a party. Therefore, even thought it feels like it’s coming outta nowhere, I’m throwing myself a book launch. Working on that means arranging the event. I truly detest readings at book launches, and am figuring out alternative ways to introduce people to the book. We’ll have a slide show, fortune teller (my mom), book launch bingo, and a silent auction of very Canadiana artwork by Lise Landry to raise money for A Fresh Chapter.

But I have other projects that I play with on Mondays (truth!) between appointments, and would like to develop more over the summer. My big ambition is to write a book for my husband. That would have some Little Zsolti stories, photographs mixed together, the story of how we first met, plus random stories and memories. Back when we first got together I would make him scrapbooks. Over the years I feel out of that kind of storytelling. But recently I picked up a book called “Chopsticks” and it brought on big-time inspiration on how to piece our story together. So I’d love to do that for him and for us.

Also, I have an unlisted writing blog where I post the first few threads of my fiction writing. It’s a space to just play with ideas, and keep them accessible while also seeing what random likes they attract. So far I’m playing with three stories on that website – one about this world where the heroine ends up challenging the author (i.e. me the writer), another that is the Wizard of Oz meets Red Dwarf, and another that is my take on Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde but with vampires and witches.

I used to write extremely serious stuff, and still do sometime. But in terms of long-term projects, it has to make me laugh and smile and love all the way through. Otherwise what’s the point?

2) Woah, that answer was way too long, Catherine. Let’s trim it back a bit, eh? Now, next question: How does your work differ from others of its genre?

Ahh. Hmm. ? (I’m thinking it over)

 

pow

My women’s fiction writing certainly differs in that I don’t play upon romance. But that’s not totally true, actually, because many of my characters are in love, or are finding love, or are running away from love. But for me it’s always more about their growth as individuals rather than chasing after a date. And then I just forget to have that make-out scene, or sex scene, or whatever. Mind you, I would certainly write it if the story went that way . . .but so many of life’s pivitol moments (after the teenage years) aren’t all about whether a guy will call back, and so at least with The Adventures of Claire Never-Ending, that stuff all happens off of the page. I enjoy reading romantic chick lit and women’s fiction, yet my writing just don’t gravitate that way. At least not yet; If I actually go through with that Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde story, that will change. 🙂

3) Why do you write what you do?

I blog what I do because it needs to get out, and because I feel like having a conversation. You see, Blog Blog Tour, you are not the first blog I’m spoken with before. I talk to Bumpyboobs all the time, and she’s a good listener 🙂

As for creative writing, it makes me happy and can be a good challenge. There’s something so brilliant in creating a text that is beautiful. I step back and think, “I did that?” When you are writing, you create a world – and it’s a powerful experience. I love creating those worlds, meeting those people, following their stories. They become reality as they are written. It’s a big deal to me – there’s something freeing in that creation, and it’s such a good feeling to play in that space.

4) How does my writing process work?

The less thought I give it the better, at least to begin with. Ideas percolate in my mind during monotonous activities (like cleaning the bathroom, for instance) and then I’m rewarded for completing those activities by sitting at the computer and letting my fingers tell a story. (Or by eating cookies.) One word after another, that’s how it works.

So far so good. Not efficient, not planned, but it works.

*

End of Blog Blog Tour!

NOW! I get to introduce to you two writers who will be picking up the blogging baton from me next week.

kevinMeet Kevin T Johns:

Kevin is an Ottawa-based writer of YA paranormal fiction. His debut novel is The Page Turners, and as I’ve said before, it’s Freaks and Geeks meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Kevin has published an excellent book, and I’d love to see it explode across the YA scene. I really enjoyed reading it because along with the monster side of things there’s a KICK-ASS young woman who is totally super cool and capable of saving the day, and the actual core issues in his writing canter upon bullying, loss, divorce and just the hard bits of being a teenager.

Check out Kevin’s blog on writing here – it’s full of great tips and ideas.

His book is here, too, and not to be missed.

 

Another wonderful writer picking up the Baton is AnneMarie Ciccarella of Chemobrain: In the Fog.To know AnneMarie is to be impressed by AnneMarie. This lady GETS IT DONE, and is another blogger wearing her heart on her sleeve. Plus, she’s taking on the conversation of sexuality and cancer with her project, Share Those Moments. Here’s her bio:

Diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in 2006, AnneMarie Ciccarella embarked on a path of patient advocacy in 2011. She is passionate about the importance of evidence-based care and seeks to share her knowledge with others. AnneMarie’s greatest passion is providing support to others. She recently extended her advocacy into the area of mental illness. She is currently working on a project about the effects of cancer on sexuality where she will bring the voices of many to the conversation. She is the author of the blog, Chemobrain: In The Fog.

Check out her blog photo crophere.

This blog tour has now been across North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and back again!

And that’s it from me up in Canada. May the blog be with you.

P.S. When Philippa passed me this challenge, she also passed it to Marie over at Journeying Beyond Breast Cancer. Go and see what Marie is up to by clicking here. 🙂

Growing Up Online via Websites

Posted in Articles, Blogging and Other Fun, Life, Writing by

There’s been loads of work happening behind the scenes at Chez BS. That’s the name I just made up for our apartment. We’re not working on the apartment…well, we did just paint one wall yellow recently thanks to my awesome friend who gave me a “wall of paint” for Christmas… but what I mean is, we’ve been working on our businesses.

Zsolt is still piecing together Easy-Patent. There’s a lot to be done as a start-up business. One very important thing is to get clients. He’s working on that. Another very important thing is to have a professional online brand. I’ve been working on my identity online, too. There’s me as a writer, blogger, bumpyboobser, self-publisher, book lover, Ottawa liver, traveller lover, crowd funder… so that’s all a little bit scattered. My challenge is to unify those identities online. (Since in ‘real life’ they are already unified, as in – all of it comes in one package: me, Catherine)

In both cases, a very good starting point is to have a very good website. So that brings me to the point of today’s post. A little while back, the Zsoltster discovered a website builder called *Strikingly. We’d been using Wix and Weebly before this, and they were nice – but Strikingly truly does appear striking on the screen in a way that others haven’t yet managed. You know how all the cool websites have these beautiful scrolling features? Strikengly’s like that.

Anyhow, Zsolt went ahead and began building his Easy-Patent website there one day while I was away. When I got home later on, he showed it off and was really, really proud. One, it is always adorable when a loved one is really, really proud. And Two, it looks great. (Kinda hard to believe he could do something so lovely online without me there to guide him. But there you have it. The man did good.)

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So, he has this gorgeous website ready to go, and because of that he is feeling a lot more confident in his brand. By the by, check out this awesome infographic I designed for him to send to clients. That’s another post for another day about the awesome infographic building program I used.

CatherineBrunelle.com is getting a makeover as well. As Marie recently told me, I need to bring together my different stories in one place. That place is going to be my touchstone online. So, like Dr. Z (i.e. the Zsoltster), I started building my website on Strikingly. It’s not done yet, but if you want a sneak peek – check it out here.

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It’s so easy to start creating all these different projects and stories online. And because it’s so easy … blog idea – poof! It exists! Ebook – poof! It exists! Globe circling book tour – poof! No, just kidding on that one … because it’s so easy, it’s also easy to end up with fragments of one’s self all over the place.

In making these touchstones for our businesses, I feel like we’re growing up online. My only qualm, which is a big point to note, is not being able to bring the blog Bumpyboobs into the new website. But maybe one day 🙂 Until then, it remains where it is, since it’s doing such a fine job.

*Anyhow, we enjoy using Strikingly so much, that we decided to go pro plan. That’s a big deal for us. I never go pro plan. But just before doing that, I found myself an opportunity to exchange a year’s worth of free pro plan service for one little blog post on this business that I already loved. So, here it is!

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Now how is that for growing up in the blogosphere? Someone wants me to write about them? Okay, I’ve gotten that before with random mailers, but in this case – I’m super excited!

So, new websites and stories coming together 🙂  2014, I am hopeful.

*I should say that Wix is useful in that it has some nice layering options and flexibility, though the text sizing ticks me off to no end! Weebly is good for multiple pages and a blog (super useful) but the templates are starting to get dated. Strikingly‘s basic plan has good options (though limited in how much can be changed), while the pro lets you play with html, which will be empowering – but even at the basic level, the interface is clean and doesn’t spasm with the text input – sparing us some arguments as I write copy for Zsolt – plus the design is really fresh. What it needs is a way to bring in one’s blog, and then it would be like the super hero of web builders. I was asked to give a review of my experience in exchange for the pro plan, so there it is pros and cons! Obviously I find it very much pro overall. It’s fraking beautiful.