Saturday, January 31, 2015

Do you wanna build a snowman?... Or be a minion for the A to Z Challenge?

Sign-ups for the April A to Z Challenge have started (see below), and that means, the host team is getting busy! Since I am a co-host this year for the first time, it also means that I get to recruit my own minions volunteer helper team.

I'm super excited! I was a minion last year, and look at me now. Suddenly I have all of these new things I get to do.
A lot of new things.

Which is why I need minions helpers.

General tasks mostly include:
1. Promoting the Challenge on social media of your choice
2. Helping with keeping the sign-up list updated, checking links, visiting blogs.
3. Visiting blogs.
4. Visiting more blogs.
5. Participating in the challenge on your own blog, obviously.
6. Helping out with other occasional tasks, such as the Theme Reveal Blogfest, etc.

If you have done A to Z before and are ready to make the next step, signing up as a volunteer is a great way to do it! (I speak from experience.) Plus, you get a super secret Facebook group, a cool team name (TBD), and a secret handshake.
I know, right?!

If you are interested, you can contact me through the comments here, through Twitter (@TarkabarkaHolgy), or through the email on my website.

Cheers!

Monday, January 26, 2015

Join the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge!

It is that time of the year again! I have participated in the A to Z challenge for the past three years, and it is always tons of fun. This year, I am one of the co-hosts. If you blog (or always wanted to blog) join us!

Please read and follow the sign-up instructions outlined below so you sign onto the list correctly!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenge is posting every day in April except Sundays (we get those off for good behavior.) And since there are 26 days, that matches the 26 letters of the alphabet. On April 1, blog about something that begins with the letter “A.” April 2 is “B,” April 3 is “C,” and so on. You can use a theme for the month or go random – just as long as it matches the letter of the alphabet for the day.

The A to Z Challenge is a great way to get into the blogging habit and make new friends. For more details and its history, go HERE

We recommend short posts, turn off Word Verification, and visit five blogs (or more) a day beginning with the one after yours on the list.

Blogs must be on an open platform – no Tumblr, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. – and comments enabled.

To streamline legitimate blogs from advertisement blogs, the Co-Hosts will be visiting each blog on this list throughout the Challenge. Blogs on the list showing no activity once the Challenge starts or miss five days in a row will be removed.

Please note your blog name and number in all correspondences. Remember that as blogs are removed, your number will change.

There are categories for those looking for like-minded blogs. Select ONE category code and enter it after your blog’s title/name. The code applies to your blog, not your theme for the Challenge and is purely optional. See the first few blogs on the list for examples. However, if your blog has adult content, you MUST mark it (AC) or it will be removed from the list. Codes are as follows:

ANIMALS: (AN)
ART: (AR)
BOOKS/REVIEWS: (BO)
CRAFTS: (CR)
CULINARY: (CU)
EDUCATION: (ED)
FASHION: (FA)
FILM/MOVIES: (FM)
GAMING: (GA)
GARDENING: (GR)
HISTORY: (HI)
HUMOR: (HU)
LIFESTYLE: (LI )
MEMOIR: (ME)
MUSIC: (MU)
MYTHOLOGY: (MY)
PERSONAL: (PR)
PHOTOGRAPHY: (PH)
POLITICS: (PO)
SCIENCE: (SC)
SOCIAL MEDIA: (SO)
SPORTS: (SP)
TRAVEL: (TR)
WRITING/STORYTELLING: (WR)
ADULT CONTENT: (AC)

Be sure to grab the badge and display it in your sidebar so we know you are participating and link to the A to Z Challenge Blog.

For more information we recommend you follow the A to Z Challenge Blog and the hosts:

Arlee Bird @ Tossing it Out
Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh
Jeremy @ Hollywood Nuts
Nicole Ayers @ The Madlab Post
Author Stephen Tremp
Heather M. Gardner
AJ @ Naturally Sweet
Pam @ An Unconventional Librarian
Matthew MacNish @ The QQQE
Zalka Csenge Virág @ The Multicolored Diary
S. L. Hennessy @ Pensuasion
C. Lee McKenzie @ The Write Game
Joy Campbell @ The Character Depot
Susan Gourley @ Susan Says
John Holton @The Sound of One Hand Typing
Lisa Buie-Collard, Author

We also have a Facebook Page
Email address is contactatozteam@gmail.com
Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge and Twitter id is @AprilA2Z

Sign up below and join us for a month of alphabet fun!