#I’m BACK! #Update #BlogFeatures

/ Marcia Meara

Okay, okay. I know I look NOTHING like Gene Wilder, but he’s a personal favorite of mine and I couldn’t resist his saucy expression! 😀 Besides, the message works! I am officially back from my adventure in the Land of Breakthrough COVID. (Not an adventure I’d wish on anybody else, and boy am I grateful every day that we’d gotten both of our shots before this hit us.) I’m also grateful to have come through it all not too much the worse for wear. Still low energy, so I try not to push too hard, but mostly all symptoms are gone, even those dreadful narcoleptic-like fatigue episodes.

The important thing is, I survived,  and I feel well enough to tackle getting most of my regular blog features back up and running  once more, though it’s possible, I may need to step back now and then if I find I’m getting overwhelmed. Hopefully that won’t happen, or at least, not often.  With that in mind,  here’s what you can look for coming up on The Write Stuff, usually on a bi-weekly basis:

  1. Every other Monday: #MondayMeme (usually writing related)
  2. Every other Tuesday: #GuestDayTuesday (I’m ready to start scheduling )
  3. Every other Wednesday: #TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAboutMe guests
  4.  Every other Thursday: #ThorsDaySmiles
  5. Every other Friday: #Granny Says

I have the weeks set up so that Monday, Wednesday, & Friday posts run one week, and Tuesday and Thursday posts, the next week. That gives me a couple of empty days each week for miscellaneous posts that I want to share and some extra guest posts now and then. Weekends are also open for whatever comes along, and a couple of times a year, I’m planning to run #ExcerptWeek, wherein you’ll be invited to share an excerpt from one of your books as one more way to promote them.

I have the #TenThings Wednesday spots filled every other week up to December, but if you’d like to be scheduled after Wed, Nov 24, just email me, and I’ll get you set up.

#GuestDayTuesday, where you can post anything you want about your books and writing (from promos to new releases to cover reveals, and more),  is wide open, starting now. Tuesday, Oct 12 is the only Tuesday I have already scheduled at this point, so feel free to contact me if you’d like to take part. (Otherwise, you might be seeing a lot of ME as my own guest. 😁 )

And I think that pretty much covers what’s coming up, but if you have any questions, all of the instructions and lists of what I’d need for you to send me are listed above (right beneath the blog header) under “General Blog Rules and Various Feature Instructions.” If you can’t find the information you’re looking for there, feel free to email me, and I’ll help as best I can.

Thanks so much to each of you for your support, healing wishes and prayers, and patience as I dealt with this situation. I am truly looking forward to catching up with all of my favorite blogs once again. And I can’t begin to tell you how much our writing and blogging community has meant to me during the eight-plus weeks I was quarantined! Probably would have lost my mind without the online friendships I’ve made.

All that being said,
IT’S GREAT TO BE BACK!

53 thoughts on “#I’m BACK! #Update #BlogFeatures”

    • I think I’ve seen every movie he ever made, usually more than once. Brilliant actor!! And thanks, Denise. I’m declaring myself officially ready to just get ON with it all! (Maybe a day or two off here and there, but mostly, life–and blogging–as usual!)

      Thanks for stopping by today and taking a moment to say hi! 😀 ❤

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  2. Well done and a few blog gaps or a blog fest in a good week, who minds! I can’t remember the last time I actually scheduled a blog and having chemotherapy I am only blogging in Week Three of the cycles – though lounging around in Weeks 1 and 2 is great for reading everyone else’s blogs. This Covid is such a drag; my next door neighbours, double vaccinated, also had it and felt awful , but at least no hospital visits were involved.

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    • I’m sorry to hear your health has been interrupting your life, too, Janet, and hope you are well on your way to putting that all behind you. Focus on that, and only do the things you feel up to doing and WANT to do. I’ve heard of lots of folks who came down with COVID after the getting the vaccines, but they almost always have very mild cases, like Mark and I did. And Mark’s symptoms only lasted four days, so he was back at work as usual at the end of the 10-day quarantine. (He’s 6 years younger than i and has no pesky health conditions to complicate things, lucky him.)

      Thanks for stopping by and taking a few moments to say hi. Happy Reading!! 😀 ❤

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      • Thanks Marcia, I shall. Strangely, since reading your post this morning my daughter rang to say she has Covid, brought to them by visiting father-in-law! She is NHS and has been careful all along and obeyed all the rules and had just had her booster – third jab. This Covid is not going away…

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        • I’m so sorry to hear that, Janet, but if it helps, tell her I’m 77, diabetic, and with a couple of other health issues, so very high risk. And the vaccines kept both of our cases to very mild symptoms, though mine lasted over four weeks. BUT. I was never in real discomfort, except for the fatigue thing, and seem to have come out of it fairly well. So here’s hoping she also has very mild symptoms, too, and that hers only lasts a few days, though she’ll likely have to be quarantined for the full ten. The odds are in her favor, since she’s had her shots. Please let us know how she’s faring!

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    • Thanks, Darlene! I was reallyreallyreally getting tired of … well … BEING TIRED. 😁 So glad to close the door on that chapter of my life, and here’s hoping I never repeat it! Thanks so much for stopping by this morning and taking a moment to say hi. Stay well, my friend. Life’s a lot more fun that way! 😀 ❤

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    • Thank you so much, Harmony! I’m truly happy to be taking up the reins again, and hopefully being at least somewhat in control of this ride for a while longer. And I’m excited about getting my regular features back on track here on the blog, and being able to visit other blogs far more frequently than I’ve been able to for the last couple of months. Yours, included!

      Thanks so much for stopping by today and taking the time to say hi and wish me well. Hope YOU are doing well, too! (Well is lots better than not-so-well, right?) 😀 ❤

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  6. So good to hear that your energy levels are returning. I know that Covid leaves some people on their knees for months afterwards and I think pacing yourself can make a difference to progress. I really enjoy all of your blog features and hope to take advantage of your excerpt one and, with a new novel in the processing blender, would love take part in your Guest Day Tuesday when things are nearer completion!
    Keep pacing yourself! ❤

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    • Funny, I was just thinking I needed to email you and suggest you do both #GuestDayTuesday, when ready, and #ExcerptWeek, when I set one up. And don’t forget, the first can be about books that are already out, or about writing in general, too. You may have more opportunities to be a guest here than you thought, and you’ll always be welcome! 🤗

      I promise I’ll pace myself so there are no setbacks that could have been avoided. I’m serious about moving forward, and if I feel myself tiring, I’ll take the occasional week off for some R&R, too. 😊

      Thanks so much for stopping by today, Trish, and taking time to say hi! Please stay well over on that side of the Pond. 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Yvette, and I look forward to having guests regularly, and doing lots more fun stuff around here. Hope you’ll think about joining us for a #GuestDayTuesday when you can.

      Thanks so much for stopping by today and taking a moment to say hi! 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Priscilla! We really were lucky we’d had those shots, and I do think they made a huge difference for Mark and probably saved MY life. I’m really happy to feel I’ve come out the other side of it all, ready to get back to all the things I love! 😃 WooHoo!!

      Thanks so much for stopping by this morning and taking a moment to say hello! 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Joan. I must say, I’m feeling pretty happy to have survived and have finally reached the point where I’m ready to get back to the things I most love again. I’m looking forward to getting the blog back on track and to finishing up my current WIP, too! I confess that COVID Brain has left me less able to focus on these things for long periods of time, but I’m learning to break my writing into shorter sessions each day, rather than one long one. (I’m a human being, after all. We’re remarkably adaptable! 😁 ) And I’m looking forward to catching up with all my favorite blogs, too, yours included!

      Stay well, my friend! And thanks for stopping by today and taking a moment to say hi. 😀 ❤

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  10. Wonderful, wonderful, Marcia! I’m so glad you are feeling better. What a journey, right? Having dealt with narcolepsy a couple of years ago, I know how strange/demanding/fear-ridden the experience is. Thank goodness that is past – for both of us! Sending big healing hugs….🤗🤗

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    • Thank you so much, Gwen! I’m eager to get things back up to speed around here and to offer more opportunities for wonderful guests (like you) to take part in it all, too.

      I’m sorry to hear that you battled narcolepsy, and very glad to hear that you defeated it! I don’t know for sure if what COVID experts call “Extreme Fatigue” is really related to narcolepsy, but I can attest to the fact that when it hits, you better have a chair handy, because you’re going to be snoring in minutes. Those spells would hit me 3 or 4 times a day, and I’d sleep for at least an hour or two each time. I had them from the start of it all and they continued long after the other symptoms had disappeared. I still don’t have my full energy level back, but that’s okay. As we age, we do tend to slow down a bit, anyhow. I can adjust to that, as long as I’m not falling sleep over and over.

      Thanks so much for the healing hugs. I’ll take ’em! And I hope you are staying well now, too? Well is a good way to be, right? 😁

      Thanks for stopping by this morning and taking time to say hi, Gwen! 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Jeanne! I’m looking forward to getting things going here, including having more guests again, so I hope you’ll join us here and there. And I agree whole-heartedly about Gene Wilder. A brilliant comedic actor, for sure, who never failed to make me laugh, while usually touching my heart.

      Thanks, too, for stopping by today and taking a moment to say hi! 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Craig. And now that I’m feeling up to scheduling more guest posts, etc, I do hope you’ll join us when you can. I’m looking to get #GuestDayTuesday back up and running and of course, to continue #TenThings, so be thinking ahead to some possible visits.

      And thanks for stopping by this morning and taking the time to say hi. 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks, Sharon! I’m very much looking forward to getting The Write Stuff back up to speed and to having time and energy to visit my favorite blogs, too.

      Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment to say hello! 😀 ❤

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  15. Wohoo! I am happy dancing right along with you, Marcia. I’m so happy that wretched time is behind you and you’re looking forward to regular features again. You have been missed, my friend (although I have enjoyed all the posts you managed here and there….I know that wasn’t easy when you weren’t feeling up to par). Sending you a HUGE WELCOME BACK! {{BIG HUGS}}

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    • Awwwww, thanks so much for that, Mae! I’m so happy to be ready to get TWS up to speed, but I’m even happier to have the energy to visit all my favorite bloggers again, and that definitely includes YOU! I’ve missed that so much!! And I’m eager to start hosting my fellow writers/bloggers for guest spots here once more, so be thinking about that, too, even after the one we’ve already scheduled. 😁

      Thanks so much for stopping by today and for giving me such a great welcome back! I’ll take that “woohoo,” and the dancing, and especially the BIG HUGS!! It’s lovely to know you missed me, and rest assured, I’ve missed you, too! 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks, Jan. I’m looking forward to getting lots of stuff going again, and to finishing my WIP before I forget what words are! 😁

      Thanks for stopping by today and taking a moment to cheer me on! 😀 ❤

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    • Good for you, Rae. It made a huge difference for us, for sure. Haven’t decided on the booster yet, but will probably get it, too. Though having had breakthrough COVID changes things a bit, and we might not need it. I’ve heard a few reports that it could be too much, if you had natural immunity building. Gonna research a bit more before I make up my mind.

      Thanks so much for the welcome back, and for stopping by & taking the time to say hello! 😀 ❤

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    • Thanks so much, Sue. I’m glad to be on the other side of this, myself! My talk yesterday went great, and was so much fun. And I held up fine, until I got home, when I collapsed in the Comfy Chair, and slept for over an hour! But I’m always tired after a presentation, because I put a LOT into them, so I’m not worried about that being anything other than a well-earned rest. And it was SO good to see some of my old regulars there as well as a couple of new folks. *happy sigh* Maybe life can slowly get back to something akin to normal for me again! WOOHOOO! 😀 ❤

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