ER: [Startles awake.] Holy cannoli! You scared me! [Realizes it's really S.K. beside the bed.] YOU'RE BACK!
SK: Shhh! You're going to wake up your husband! Come on, let’s get started. I took the liberty of warming up the banana nut muffins I found in your kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee, mon.
ER: [Yawning.] You seem to have taken a lot of liberties, as far as I can tell . . . mon. [Looks over at Tim, miraculously still sleeping.] Um . . . give me a minute and I'll be right down.
. . . Five minutes later . . .
SK: [Sitting in the kitchen, wiping crumbs off face.] There you are, LynLyn, it took you long enough. I can’t wait to catch up! The A to Z challenge left me tired and my vacation left me relaxed. What did you do while I was gone?
ER: I'm pretty sure I just cried. I don't really remember much after you texted me to say goodbye. [Looks around.] Didn't you say there were muffins?
SK: Oh, well there were only three . . . and you took forever to get ready. One thing led to another and I finished it all, but don't worry about it, you can make more if you want.
So did you get a chance to rest after the big A to Z challenge ended?
ER: Well, I did a little thing I like to call “Finally Getting Something Else Done.” On Thursday, I tried to do Coffee Chat without you but I gave up after I couldn't think of any questions that didn't end with "why am I not in Jamaica?" I wrapped up the first rounds of a book edit on Friday, and Saturday and Sunday were busy with things that didn't go in A to Z order, didn't need my Red Pen of Doom, and didn't require a comment.
Did you think of me every day you were gone? I bought some of those little umbrellas for your coffee like one of the Coffee Chat commenters suggested. I thought maybe they would make the transition back to reality a nice one.
SK: “Finally Getting Something Else Done!” This I have yet to achieve. I just got back, unpacked, and now the laundry is sitting there mocking me, but hey, at least I had some yummy muffins to help me feel better, and those little umbrellas will sure help even more. Did I think of you every day I was gone? Definitely. Except not really. A little bit? Ahem, I mean . . . of course! I thought I was suffering from Internet withdrawals, but it must have been you I was missing.
Now I’m back to the grind and I'm slowly catching up with blogs. I missed the last two days of A to Z and it almost seems like everything else piled up right along with the challenge. It's a shame really. There are so many awesome bloggers and I don't want to miss their creative posts. Speaking of the challenge, of all the new blogs you discovered, give me one of your favorite A to Z bloggers. Yes, only one. Otherwise we will never finish this chat.
ER: Ava Quinn at Tongue in Cheek had me laughing every single day.
And I won a book on TheWriteGame, C. Lee McKenzie’s blog! All because I didn't know who anyone in her posts was, but kept trying anyway. Her cat loves me. Loves. Me.
SK: I didn't know anyone either and yet you won it? You bullied that cat! I'm sure of it . . . nicely played, Lynda. Nicely played.
My top favorite was Michelle over at Writer-in-Transit with her interactive posts. I loved the different book illustrations she provided for us to caption.
ER: Me too! That was a great one. Did you have any blogs you "found" that surprised you? I tracked down all my new commenters; I enjoyed a lot of flash fiction, random stuff, and my "surprise like" blog was Sue McPeak's CollectinTexas Gal. Sue took old forgotten photos and created short fiction around them. So creative and intriguing!
SK: Yes! I never really gave quilting much thought until I "met" Fanny Barnes Thornton. I found myself fascinated by her work; they're all a piece of art. One of my favorite lines of hers was: "Some quilts are like novels - they're never finished or have to be re-worked, and you can spend about the same amount of time on them." I can see how this is true, even if I've never done a quilt myself. It's just amazing how all types of artists—as different as we all are—can share the same experiences.
Did you have any favorite post or comments from your own challenge? I really enjoyed all of YOUR replies on “Cliché” day. So hilarious! And your commenters were by far the best and most fun, they were all interacting with each other and it almost seemed like an all day party over here, especially on “X” day. Well, a party that lasted the whole month with nightly breaks, that is.
ER: My cliché comments were the cat’s meow. The bee’s knees. And a pain in the butt, but well worth the effort. “X” day’s comment’s? Ohhh . . . My commenters in general made the challenge great for me.
SK: I’m not sure about mine. I did enjoy reading about my fellow twitchilators a.k.a. OCD peeps. It’s always nice to know you’re not the only weirdo around, ya know?
ER: There’s great comfort in that. Then again, you’re talking to the weirdo who came up with a dumb A to Z haiku every day for Raymond Esposito’s Writing in a Dead World. And you purple prose-d him almost to death with your comments on his blog. It’s nice to have friends we can abuse.
SK: I did and boy, I had fun with that! Since time was the most challenging aspect of the whole A to Z thing, I didn’t get a chance to visit as many bloggers as I’d hoped. I plan on still checking out participants in the future . . . after I catch my breath a little bit. How about you? Wanna do some stalking with me?
ER: I’m with you, stalking buddy! That’s the great thing about the A to Z: those posts will still be around, and better late than never, I say, when it comes to blog visits.
SK: It sure was fun! A to Z Challenge 2015, get ready for us! We might even do a joint series to kick things up a notch. What do you guys think? A Coffee Chat A to Z Theme—yes, no, maybe? Hmm . . . ideas are swirling!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Before you go share with us: Who were some of your favorite A to Z bloggers?
As our blogging challenged id e nd , a few great bloggers had us in joy, kneeling from the laughter many new and old posters quietly and randomly shared. Tou s verybrave w onderful x antax -free yet zesty A to Z challengers, Cheers!
As always:
You can find S.K. Anthony in a number of places. She's on Twitter @SKathAnthony , her website is www. skanthony .com, her Facebook page is S Katherine Anthony , and on occasional occasions, she'll be right here with me, drinking coffee and laughing it up over our latest plans and schemes. And possibly even talking about books and writing.
You can find me here. I'm always here.
