Away on Vacation

Ladies and gentlemen, my family and I are off enjoying a family reunion Christmas cruise this week. See how excited Bean and I are?

Bean and the Coffee-Stained Writer on Bean's first cruise
October 2010

I do have a couple of posts scheduled for this week while I'm gone, and my tequila-stained heart sister may stop in to write something.

Happy Holidays, and please stay safe!

Introducing: Guest Bloggers!

In preparation for the birth of my first baby, I asked my readers if they'd be willing to step up and post for me during August and September. Thankfully, several people offered to post during my time away from the blog, so you'll be able to continue to enjoy original content over the next six weeks.

Each guest post will go up on a Wednesday, beginning next week and running until the end of September. I'm excited about the selection of posts to share with you, and I think the authors are excited, too.

On August 26 you can read the musings of Mike of The Big Stick, who will be sharing his take on ministers in rural areas in response to an essay by Darryl Hart. Mike will examine what plays a role in the high turnover often seen in rural pulpits, and make a case that it may not be what Hart suggests.

Chris will share his thoughts on September 2, with a post about how he came to writing through an AOL-sponsored chatroom for poets, and offer advice for beginning writers who want to engage their readers and draw them into their experiences.

Jen, author of Divinest Sense, has the special honor of posting on September 9 (09/09/09), and her post will explore the idea of seeing yourself as a writer, even if you're not making a living from it, drawing on her own experiences as a writer with a day job.

Kell of Welcome to Earth and author of the Prophecy series will be next up on September 16. In her post, Kelly gets us geared up for NaNoWriMo a little early by offering a little advice she learned the hard way last year.

September 23 goes to Abi of Hollywood Back Roads. Her post, "Something Worth Writing" will explore how she came to balance the often hermitous lifestyle of writers with her own adventurous spirit, and explain why that balance is important for all writers.

Finishing out the series will be Dana of En Tequila Es Verdad on September 30. Dana is a co-blogger here, and occasionally drops in to ponder writing and reading. You have to watch out, though, as Dana may get a little antsy and post more frequently than just the once during the series!

It promises to be an interesting six weeks of posting, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I will! The dear readers who volunteered to post for me are wonderful people who will bring a fresh perspective to my blog.

Of course, if you like the guest posts, be sure to stop over at the authors' blogs or sites to let them know! We writers love to hear compliments, after all!

The Coffee-Stained Writer Seeks Guest Bloggers for August/September

I don't know if you know this or not, but...I'm pregnant.

Yes, that's right, your beloved NP has been abstaining from caffeine, getting a rather large belly bump, and decorating a nursery.

For the most part, my pregnancy has been quite easy (enjoyable, even!), but now that I'm getting to the end, I'm realizing that pretty soon I'll things on my mind outside of the blogosphere. When Bean arrives, I don't know how often I'll even be in my office, let alone blogging!

That said, I'd like to appeal to you, my dear coffee-stained readers, and ask if any of you would like to step in and post a few guest posts for while I'm preoccupied cuddling my precious little Bean. Dana of En Tequila Es Verdad already has access as a co-blogger, so I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy at least one tequila-stained post from her over the course of my absence, but surely there are others of you who have contemplated writing about writing? Or about your faith? Or coffee, for that matter?

Well, this is your opportunity to chime in!

Not only will you get the chance to share your thoughts here, but you'll get great linkage to your own blog/site, which is always good. Cross-promotion is fun, isn't it?

If you're interested, please let me know. Even if you're not sure exactly what you'd write, but you know you'd like to participate, let me know. Over the next few weeks I'll be collecting posts from readers and will schedule them to go up on my blog.

--

Photo source

Guest Blogging

While Mike of The Big Stick is on vacation, I was asked to do a guest post for his blog. I was flattered, of course, and today my post on family prayer is up on his blog.

Enjoy!