Making Friends with Tristi

One of the coolest things about the invention of the internet is the ability to make friends despite physical distance. I live in a rural area of CO, 25 miles from town, and I have a large family so I spend most of my time caring for my family, keeping the house semi-clean, and when I have a bit of time, writing. I don't "do lunch" with a bunch of girlfriends. I don't get my hair or nails done. I don't make regular trips to the mall (in fact, I only go when one of my teenage daughters drag me there). I don't socialize much, except with my immediate family or my sister and her family. Besides my husband and kids, my sister is my best friend. But, she has 11 kids so we don't hang out a lot because we're both so busy trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done each day. We mainly talk on the phone because we can clean and talk at the same time.

When the internet arrived, all of a sudden, I could socialize with people. I could "talk" to people in my pajamas on my own timetable. I could even "meet" people I admired, such as the many writers I've met. I love Facebook, email, and groups I belong to that all take place on the internet because it works so well for me and my schedule (and I don't have to wear make-up or a bra to socialize).

One of my favorite people that I've met online is Tristi Pinkston. I've since met her in person, several times, and I love her as much in person as online. She's funny, entertaining, and very supportive. She's a writer so she "gets me" and we're both co-chairing the bootcamp portion of the LDStorymakers Conference on May 5, 2011. Tristi is sponsoring "Making Friends Monday." The idea is that she places info about some of her online friends and we put info about her on our blogs and then we all end up making more friends. Cool idea, or what?

Here's some info about Tristi so you can get to know her a little bit better:

Tristi Pinkston has been blogging since 2006. On her main blog, (http://www.tristipinkston.blogspot.com) she covers everything from writing tips and the life of a published author to kid funnies, spiritual thoughts, and embarrassing moments. She also has a weight loss blog, one for writing challenges, another for her fictional characters … and she lost count of how many others she has. You can find the links for them on her sidebar.


Tristi is the author of five published novels, one coming out in January, and a whole kit ‘n caboodle of unpublished novels. Right now she’s focusing on cozy mysteries, although she has written historical fiction in the past and plans to write more in that genre. She works as a freelance editor and a virtual book tour coordinator. She loves taking long naps, being charmingly annoying, and watching good movies. She’s a Mormon, a homeschooler, a Cubmaster, and most of the time, a headless chicken.

Check out Tristi's blog http://www.tristipinkston.blogspot.com --it's full of fun, just like Tristi.

New Blog

I'm happy to announce the creation of a new blog.

A Ton of Authors and a Wannabe features posts by 20 Cedar Fort authors, including me, and Doug Johnston, the Public Relations Director (he's the Wannabe). It's quite a diverse group. You should check it out. We'll have new posts regularly as well as links to all the authors' websites, other blogs, and sites of interest. We're hoping this will become one of your favorite blogs!

Happy reading.

Ahhh, Technology

I admit it, I'm computer illiterate. I blame in on my husband. He's a computer guru. He can make computers do amazing things. Something that stumps me for hours will take him less than a minute to solve. He seems to have a magical computer power. So when I need the computer to do something, I turn to him and he does it for me. I've skipped a lot of steps along the way--too many steps. I just want the computer to work. If I have access to the internet and Word is working properly, I'm a happy camper. I don't want to know all the ins and outs or the whys or wherefores of computers--if it works, I'm happy, if it doesn't I'm not. Simple.



Now blogging has become very important. Yes, my husband knows all about it, but this time, I'm going to do it on my own. I'm going to make this blogging thing work. Of course, when I read all the things that LDSPublisher has posted about blogging, it makes my head explode or maybe that's implode. I'm not sure how I can keep all this information straight.



But, I'm determined to learn all there is to know about blogging. I admire all of those who have such interesting and helpful blogs and I spend way too much time reading blogs (a quick look at my house will attest to that). I'm sure I'll make mistakes along the way on my blog, but they'll be my mistakes and I will learn from them.



And, the next time I'm tempted to run to my honey to fix my computer problems, I'm going to cowboy up and try to do it myself.