Blog
Going visiting – Blog style
By Carol / August 3, 2012 /
Would you like some coffee?
Most families in our farming neighborhood saw Sunday as a day for resting and visiting. A day of resting and visiting AFTER you milked the cows at 5 a.m., had breakfast, went to church, and ate Sunday dinner–and BEFORE you milked cows again that night. Between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. there were a few hours for visiting.
The whole business of visiting is different these days. Particularly in the social media world. As I’ve made new friends in the worlds of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Goodreads, I’ve watched authors go visiting blog style. Just like Sunday afternoon visits on the farm, blog visits are a chance to share the news, deepen existing friendships and make new friends.
There were a few ‘rules’ to Sunday afternoon visits: catch up on neighborhood news, enjoy the lunch that will always be served, and leave when it was time for chores. I don’t know all the rules of blog visits yet, but they seem to be about the same: chat about appropriate topics and don’t stay to long. The lunch part is left to readers bringing their own cup of coffee and a bagel.
I’ve hosted Diane Glass and Debra Engle, the authors of Winter, here and I’ve made a few visits myself. Each discussion has been different, reflecting the personalities of the blog hosts. Here are three blogs I’ve been invited to visit recently to share thoughts about writing my memoir. I hope you’ll click on the links below, catch up on our discussions and share your thoughts. There’s nothing bloggers like more than to have readers jump into the conversation.
Rachelle’s Window Rachelle Ayala wrote MICHAL’S WINDOW, a look at the biblical story of King David from the perspective of David’s first wife Michal. As a lover of historical fiction, I find these kinds of stories fascinating because they take someone many people know well (King David) and show the events from the perspective of a lesser known character. Rachelle is true to the biblical story while weaving a fascinating tale told from a woman’s perspective.
A.D. Trosper Audra Trosper raises goats and writes fantasy. How interesting a combination is that? I haven’t read her book EMBERS AT GALDRILENE (Dragon’s Call) yet, but how can I resist when I know the author understands the seriousness of milk fever in dairy cows and goats?
All Dressed Up J.P. Lane and I connected because of clothes. She’s an expert on historical clothing and I needed to know what men’s underwear was like in 1910. Just let it be said that men wore far more then than they do today. Joan recently released The Tangled Web, a story of international intrigue, murder and romance played out in New York, London, Prague, and a Caribbean island.
As society changes, so do things like Sunday afternoon visits. Blog visits are one way I’m keeping up with friends. How about you? What do you see as the new way to visit?
Interesting. Love the comparison.
Thanks for dropping by, Joan. I visit with many more people these days because of blogs. And like all good visits, I learn a lot!
I so enjoyed your visit to my blog. I wish there was a way to share ‘lunch’ through the computer. 🙂
Wouldn’t that be fun? Pictures of food just don’t do it for me though.
Hi Carol, thanks for the visit! I wish we could really sit across from each other and chat. Oh, I agree, pictures of food don’t do it either. And neither do pictures of men’s torsos. However sharing a book, or reading a book review of a book I read allows us to get to know each other better.
Hi, Rachelle! Over time, these blog visits and book discussions do let us get to know each other. Because of them, my circle of friends has really expanded across the country and across the oceans. I’m so grateful for that. Thanks for dropping in. I’m taking a sip of coffee right now!