A tag... and one more deadline!

As the Israeli General Election creaks along today in the background, accompanied by storm-like conditions and great wind, I've been tagged by Lauri at Thoughts from Botswana and this is a good one so I am happy to be a taggee. Here is what I am commanded to do:

List at least five things you do to support and spread a love of the written word, then tag five people. (If you list something that touches youngsters, you get a bonus letter!)

Ok, here are my five things:

1. I set up The Short Review, whose sole aim is to spread the love of short stories, and it seems to be going pretty well so far.
2. I write about the writing process on this blog, which I hope both demystifies something about the process but also conveys the magic of the written word to those of us who trade in it.
3. I am teaching a short story workshop (to adults so no bonus point - although one student is 16!) with the aim of conveying my passion for the written word in general and short stories in particular, and bringing the group weird and wonderful short stories they may not have found by themselves just to indicate that a short story is not easily defined.
4. I write regular "Source of Lit" posts on this blog to spread the word about short stories, books and poems that I have read and loved.
5. I write and I take the risk of sending my writing out into the world, in the form of short stories and the book (have I mentioned the book????It's still out of stock in the UK and selling for silly prices on Amazon, but this is ridiculousness, and it should be back in stock at normal price later today or tomorrow), sending it again and again even after it gets rejected, which is the most personal way for me to demonstrate my love for the written word.
   

A great tag because it is something we in this business should think about from time to time. I will tag some of my newer blog colleagues: How Publishing Really Works, The Write Reality, Debi Alper, Forgetting the Time and LitScribbler. Looking forward to your responses.

Ok, addendum to yesterday's Writers Service Announcement:

March 1st: Abroad Writers' Conference, 5000 words, first place wins full tuition to the conference in Scotland (value, $2,750 shared room) or India (includes airfare, value, $4,000); Second-place winners $250.00; and, third-place $50.00. Top 10 Short-Story finalists will have their stories read by Colin O'Reily, the producer of the film "Blades of Glory" with starred Will Ferrell. Postal entry. Fee $25, payable online.

Winners will apparently be announced on March 15th, according to a message I received this morning through Facebook, but this seems incredibly fast so it may be a typo!

Good luck to all.. I had better go and vote.

One-word tag

Tagged again - by Sarah. These are my instructions: Link back to the person who gave you this award. Nominate at least 7 other blogs. Put links to those blogs on your blog. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you've nominated. You can only answer in one word. I quite like these questions so I'm doing it. Here goes:

1. Where is your cell phone? Here
2. Where is your significant other? Close.
3. Your hair color? Reddish
4. Your mother? England
5. Your father? Ireland
6. Your favourite thing? Writing
7. Your dream last night? Gone
8. Your dream/goal? Book
9. The room you're in? Hall
10. Your hobby? Knitting
11. Your fear? Boredom
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you're not? Communal
15. One of your wish-list items? Shed
16. Where you grew up? London
17. The last thing you did? Emailed
18. What are you wearing? Pyjamas
19. Your TV? Computer
20. Your pet? cats
21. Your computer? Lifeline
22. Your mood? Flu-ey
23. Missing someone? Nope
24. Your car? Honda
25. Something you're not wearing? Watch
26. Favourite store? Bookstore
27. Your summer? Whirlwind
28. Love someone? Definitely
29. Your favorite color? Purple
30. When is the last time you laughed? Lately
31. Last time you cried? Recently

Ok, here are my tags:

Thoughts from Botswana, Tim, Asalted, She of the Quill and Bottle, The Flea, LitFlood
and Women Rule Writer.
Feel free to ignore the tags, totally up to you!

Thanks, Sarah.

Tagged again, randomly

Runaway Granny has tagged me and I quite like this one, so here goes. 6 random facts about myself:

1. I am a citizen of three countries (UK, Israel, Australia)

2. I once pierced my belly button, but it got infected so I had to take the ring out, sadly

3. I am not a morning person, rarely to be seen before 9.30 (yes, even that is a stretch) but did for a time have a job requiring me to get up at 5am and help translate the Israeli news into English.

4. My favourite comfort food is spaghetti with tomato sauce and grated very strong Cheddar.

5. I once learned Tai Chai but gave up because I spent the whole class thinking about what I was going to eat afterwards.

6. I met my partner, J, on an Arvon Foundation course in Science & Writing at Lumb Bank in Yorkshire, and I can honestly say that it was the last place I ever expected to meet anyone!


I think I will stop the tagging here. Feel free to post 6 random facts about yourself anyway.