I’ve been blogging here on WordPress for half-a-month now, and it has been great.
Much of the reason it has felt great has been the kind attention and support I’ve received.
It occurred to me to build a post (i.e. this one) in which I introduce those who have chosen to follow my blog to one another and to anyone else who might be interested.
The subtitle of simple Ula, the blog of my most recent follower (a Polish girl living in Canada), reads, “I want to be rich. Rich in love, rich in health, rich in laughter, rich in adventure and rich in knowledge. You?” I do! Speaking of “I do” – Ula is recently wed (congrats!), which is what her featured post is about. Other recent posts detail health advantages of golfing and great memories of 2017, as well as this great post on turning your life around.
DOUGLAS WILLIAM THURSTAN SMITH is a creative writing blog. With a BA in Creative Writing, Sociology & Philosophy, he says, “Fantasy is… my passion… but I also write fiction and poetry.” In today’s post, Tuesday Discussion, the Australia-based writer asks this: “Hardcovers or Paperbacks? And why?”
Karyn of KARYN’S DOMAIN describes herself in this way: “I am a cautiously optimistic skeptic, snow-loving, mid-aged dog & nature lover, thinker & writer-of-deep-thoughts or quick, quirky mind-wonderings, tiny-home-dreamer, book-devouring loner.” Her recent posts have been about justice, relationships, and writing with intention.
Frank’s WordPress address redirects to his own dot com, where he greets visitors thus: “If you love haiku, tanka, haibun and assorted styles of free verse poetry, you have found the website you have been looking for.” Navigating his site can be tricky, but is well worth the effort. Among the latest posts upon my most recent visit were Peace Within Day 1 and Moon Cry. I enjoy visiting Frank and you might too. Pro tip: start here.
57-yr-old Dale blogs at future daze about “opinion, music, top ten, punk, culture, literature, poetry, member berries”… His last few posts have been TOP TEN PUNK MOMENTS IN HISTORY,PANDORA’S BOX OPENED (a poem about change and hope, followed by the playlist of a supreme love mixtape), & LAST (STRAW), a snippet from his novel.
At REREADING JANE EYRE we find an author with three successful books on Amazon, an English teacher and scholar of Victorian literature who was born in England and resides in Spain. She also enjoys participating in prompts and linkups, does book reviews and author spotlights, and takes part in photo challenges to boot. Her recent posts have been flash (about a passionate poet) for Carrot Ranch, a haiku on and photos of Pompeii, and wonderful photos of Italy.
SIMONETEFFECT – PURE BLACK & WHITE is the blog of an excellent photographer based in Germany who travels a great deal and is passionate about “jazz music, Italian food and surrealistic and visionary art.” I find the photos posted here to be compelling in the extreme. Here’s a recent example:
His blog !Misc.Minds$ announces right away that if you don’t have an open mind, you might not like it. He is out to explore various concepts and ideas, and invites topic suggestions and participation in each discussion. The latest post is about materialism – “…technology is advancing causing materialism to grow like a disease…”
“Kerry E.B. Black has long loved words and entices them to create tales both fanciful and true.” The latest post on her blog Allusionary Assembly presents two truly outstanding flash fiction pieces written to a Carrot Ranch prompt. At just 99 words each, they are bite-sized and delicious.
Josephine lives in Germany. She’s a photographer and digital artist. She says, “How we see what’s in front of us is even more important than the object itself. ” The images on her site are exquisite – surrealist and compelling. Here’s the lastest post:
Sandra is a published author, and her blog EXPRESSIONS is pretty much a writer’s playground. Her last few posts have taken inspiration from the WordPress Daily Prompt, Linda Hill’s awesome Stream of Consciousness Saturday challenge, and The Daily Post Photo Challenge. Her writing is strong, and I enjoy her takes on the prompts.
Kira’s surname is Shymn, and the title of her blog is a playful reconstruction of her full name. Kira’s Hymn is full of, as she says, “weird poem things” which I find very enjoyable.
In the latest post on McGuffy’s Reader, Annie invites any and all to join in with “a positive quote, thought, poem, or story.” She hosts the Friendly Fill-Ins linkup and participates in poetry prompts. Her essay, “Be the Bloom” begins with the line, “We are all in this together.” She obviously walks her talk, and her positive attitude is contageous!
The menu of Life of Chaz has a random button, and when I just clicked it, it took me to a post from a year and a half ago called SPACEX PLANS FOR MARS, with a sweet video. His latest post is about Dan Brown’s new book and the Netflix original series Black Mirror.
Solvi lives in Germany. Latest posts on her blog detail gift ideas and fun toys for toddlers up. She also writes about elevating kids with love and respect, igniting a love of reading in kids, and preparing teens for success.
It is a special communication protocol that protects the information being transmitted across the web. It creates a secure connection between a person’s web browser and the server of the company they are interacting with, so all communication between the two is kept private and secure, safe from eavesdropping, and cannot be stolen or changed in transit.
All the information that is passed through this secure connection is encrypted before being sent, and decrypted only when received on the other end.
The man behind the blog called jagahdilmein believes this: “The heart should be big enough to accommodate anything or anyone, why worry about physical space, time, money, or effort needed?” His latest post is a take on the Carrot Ranch flash prompt “wet ink” combined with The Sunday Photo Fiction challenge, hosted by Al Forbes. His fun 99 words feature a dastardly version of Jimmy Olsen.
Laura’s blog, The View From My Window, is very cool-looking, and her posts are inspiring and uplifting. In her latest, she reminds us, “Never entertain the idea that there’s only one way to see things. Every view is different.”
Nectar of Life is a gourmet organic coffee roaster that ONLY roasts certified organic and Fair Trade coffees. We FRESH ROAST all coffees after the order is placed, and we ONLY roast gourmet Arabica coffees.
Robyn’s blog is Autism in Our Nest. She says, “We are one loving unit, and autism is a part of who we are.” Recent posts detail challenges and triumphs involving autism.
Here we find “A nurse and a teacher from Wimbledon, travelling this little world as much as we can.” They offer travelogue, excellent photos, and tips. Latest post is… Paris!
Miri’s blog is called A SHORT CONVERSATION. In her latest piece of creative writing there, I find this line: “I went to the moon and I figured it out, all of it, got all whole and fixed and healed and unafraid.” Isn’t that awesome? That’s awesome.
Here’s a blog called ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE! and when you read the posts on it, you might just believe that’s true. Joanna of the Forest is a force to be reckoned with. My favorite of her recent posts is about her favorite keepsake t-shirt. She says we might “see an old lady on TV wearing an old raggedy ecology flag T shirt doing something crazy to save the planet.” Lol!
On Netdancer’s Musings, we meet Candace, who lives life passionately. She participates in photo challenges, producing gorgeous photographs, and writes about love, travel, and life. Her most recent post responds to the WordPress Daily Prompt ‘entertain’ with a collage of pictures from a Renaissance Fair.
Yves Morrow’s site is a writer’s mecca, with a burgeoning community linking up to a prompt for every day of the week. An accomplished writer with various publications out there, like this book of poetry on Amazon, Yves explores “Mind- philosophy, psychology, mental illness, society; Love- loss, unrequited, infatuations and obsessions, sex, true love, new love, relationships of all sorts both dysfunctional and sublime; Misery- childhood trauma/PTSD, Depression, Disassociative Disorder, the search for meaning, loneliness, spiritual dilemmas grief, social ineptitude etc.”
Bassey describes herself as “a student of the word and writer by night, a graduate civil engineer by day.” The lastest post on her eponymous blog is a Christian teaching entitled System Upgrade – Mankind v2.0.
Darly’s blog is called DARLY – LIFESTYLE BLOG. She loves “fashion, make up, travelling, DIY, decoration, cooking…” Her latest post is a review of several beauty products she has recently tested.
Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo is the stomping ground of a writer and painter living in the south of England. In Sue’s bio, she reminds us, “It is not the path that one walks that matters, but how one chooses to walk it.” And I like how Sue walks hers. Her last couple of posts are an author guest post and a short piece from another writer’s blog (Everything and Nothing) written to Sue’s excellent #writephoto prompt.
Jenny is “Mother of Hellions, Hater of Spiders, and Drinker of Wine…. an aspiring kicka$# author.” In the most recent post on her blog, Scribbles on Cocktail Napkins, Allen explores the topic of alter egos. The piece starts with a few celebrity examples like Eminem (aka Slim Shady), and goes on to explore how the concept of alter ego applies to readers, writers and writing in general.
Authors have a reputation for being *cough* slightly introverted. The other thing we’re known for? A little thing called Impostor Syndrome. “Impostor syndrome refers to the feelings of fraud and self-doubt often experienced by high-level achieving individuals.”
She also discusses plans to alter the course of her blogging, and she invites other bloggers to discuss their blogs in the comments. All in all, an excellent post, if you ask me.
Recent posts on J-DUBS GRIN AND BEAR IT include a touching remembrance of her brother, a piquant snatch of dialogue to the JusJoJan prompt, and an inspiring reblog from one of her best friends.
Denise Aileen DeVries is a translator and writer. “While living in Virginia, I dreamed of moving to Arizona, and here I am in Tempe. In Virginia, I wrote about the desert, and in Arizona I’m writing about Virginia.” This avid, interesting blogger’s recent posts have been a simultaneously playful and deep take on the Sunday Writing Prompt, a #SongLyricSunday post, and another crafty piece incorporating the WordPress Daily Prompt and JusJoJan/Stream of Consciousness Sunday. Her blog is in some ways a mirror of mine. We like the same kind of layout, and we both love prompty linkups!
“Carrot Ranch is a dynamic online literary communityfor those practicing craft, reading stories and discussing process. Charli Mills is the lead buckaroo who hosts a weekly flash fiction challenge, a jam session for writers.” The two top posts on the ranch blog at the moment are an essay by Irene Waters about different generations of people and various experiences of high school graduation (write your memories and link up!), and the round-up of the recent 99-word flash prompt (many stellar pieces in one).
Susan is “a writer, editor, proofreader… [who has] also worked as a data entry clerk, admin assistant, bartender, waitress, and caregiver to the elderly.” On her blog, she has been “Embracing the Absurd since 2011” lol. Latest post is a sweet haiku for this week’s Ronovan Writes linkup. Susan has a couple of books available on Amazon. I actually ordered both of them in paperback yesterday (for real!) and am looking forward to writing snarky reviews of them.
Blog: ELLAHHALLETS; Must-read post: SO, I MET A BOY. The writing in this post is so wild and rollicking and sincere and touching that it inspired me to create a blog called Reblog Mixtape, on which to stash and showcase posts I love.
This writer’s poems are typically short and awesome. His blog, Playing with words is a treat to visit. His latest three are piercing relationship poems. While you’re checking them out, don’t miss the ‘Fib’ button on his menu. Excellent stuff.
T Davis is a college instructor about my age. Featured on Laissez Faire are a funny and instructive post about the process of producing her book of short stories and a haiku. Many other posts there are for YeahWrite.me – easily the classiest and most demanding prompt/linkup/competition site for serious writers. She is also on Patreon.
Dwight Roth is a poet with works on Amazon. On the ROTH POETRY landing page, he writes, “I hope that the things you read and see on this site will stimulate your emotions and give rise within you to the point that you to will have to write what you are thinking and feeling.” His latest post is a well-penned reminiscence about his aunt. Which reminds me… I need to call my mother’s sister and tell her I love her.
On the about page of his self-titled blog, Iain tells us that he lives in “East Kilbride, near Glasgow in Scotland, where I spend almost all my time raising my twin son and daughter. In my spare time I work as an editor of television programmes.” His most recent posted fiction piece, THE LAST SNOW LEOPARD, is written to this week’s Sunday Photo Fiction prompt.
Kiwinana is Elsie Hagley from New Zealand. The latest post on her blog, Ramblings of a Writer, is a Sidlak poem.
What is a Sidlak Poem?
Sidlak Poetry is a structured poetry consisting of five lines with 3-5-7-9 syllables and a color. The last line must be a color that describes the whole poem or the feeling of the writer.
Elsie participates in many prompted linkups and is one of those bloggers who makes the time to visit the other writers alongside her. Her kind attention and words of encouragement are wondrous.
The last was the first. Linda Hill – host of One Liner Wednesdays, Stream of Consciousness Saturdays, and the Just Jot it January challenge – was not only my first follower here on Word Florilegium, but my first follower too on Twitter (where I am @jokumshi and she is @LindaGHill). I am very grateful to her for all she does. Her blog is LindaGHill.com, and her most recent post as of this writing is an installment in “The Second Seat on the Right” – which features recurring characters on a city bus somewhere in Canada. Learn more about this series here. Thanks, Linda – you rock!
In the last couple of days (days 8 and 9 out of 31, to be precise) of the My 500 Words challenge I’m attempting, Jeff Goins has encouraged me to 1> make a list, and 2> teach something. It seems to me that this post counts for both of these prompts. As such, since we’re playing school, you’d better study hard for the exam! Ha… see how I slipped in today’s Daily Prompt there? As if this post didn’t contain enough links already…
Thanks for having me on your list and, WOW! what a list – You’ve put a lot of work into featuring other writers. I am definitely going to check out these links. Thank you!
Thank you, kind sir, I appreciate you adding me to the list, also extra thanks to you for using your time to write for the Weekly Tanka Prompt Challenge, now a Poetry Challenge, any form.
Welcome to WordPress, we have a wonderful community here and it’s Worldwide, I have met so many new friends writing on this platform. Cheer!
Thanks so much for adding me to your list! I am happy to be following you! To list your first followers and write a bit about each, was a super idea. Wishing you much success and fun as you continue your blogging adventure. 🙂
Word Florilegium 
Thank you for mentioning me. I didn’t know you were blog only a half-month, anyway you are doing a great job, I always enjoy reading your posts.
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Thanks for having me on your list and, WOW! what a list – You’ve put a lot of work into featuring other writers. I am definitely going to check out these links. Thank you!
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Wow! Thank you for the multiple reblogs! 😀🙏
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Thank you, kind sir, I appreciate you adding me to the list, also extra thanks to you for using your time to write for the Weekly Tanka Prompt Challenge, now a Poetry Challenge, any form.
Welcome to WordPress, we have a wonderful community here and it’s Worldwide, I have met so many new friends writing on this platform. Cheer!
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Thank you for sharing my blog!
I really apprecitate 😃
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What a lovely way to appreciate your followers. I think you have this blogging thing down. 🙂
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Thanks so much for adding me to your list! I am happy to be following you! To list your first followers and write a bit about each, was a super idea. Wishing you much success and fun as you continue your blogging adventure. 🙂
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Wow!!! What a list! Am glad I made it here! Thanks so much for adding me. Great work you are doing here.
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