End of week grab-bag o' links: odds, ends and social networking

I now have to read the Hunger Games books because I suddenly noticed everyone on the internet flipping out about the release of Mockingjay. (Okay, not everyone, but at least all the YA bloggers.) I did not know I was supposed to be waiting with bated breath for the release of the third book.  My bad.  So I will perform odd acts of anticipatory breathing while waiting for copies to become available from my local library. There's a wait list there as well, so it's almost the same thing, right?

There's a blog party going on this weekend. Are you going? I am.  And if you're here because of the labor day blog party: welcome!

On Speak Coffee to Me, the "About" page is now fully updated.  Before there had been all that boring shit about education, etc.  Now the education stuff is buried in an enchanting narrative.  At least, it's meant to be enchanting.  Or at least engaging.  Anyway, it's a story not a CV, so hopefully it's interesting.

If you lurk, but do not follow, now would be a great time to click on the "Follow" button on the right-hand sidebar, just between the eileenwiedbrauk.com logo and the advertisements.

Funny and funny, corporate style.

Recent articles on the web about writers and social networking.

• From Writer Unboxed, how to use your facebook page to your advantage. Also from Writer Unboxed, why you don't need a facebook page.
• From Fine Printe Literary Management blog, "Social Networking 101" -- except all they really say is that you need a blog, then they discuss what to blog about. Answer: books! And be aware of your voice. Look! Now you don't even have to follow the link! As an example of voice they recommend the Bloggess. Sheesh. Talk about telling newbies to aim high.
• And lastly, a not-all-that-recent article from Writer's Digest on the subject of social networking.  As always, Writer's Digest is only good for covering the basics in a bare fashion, but it's a good place to start if you don't know where to start.  
• Next week I'll put up the semi-related links to thoughts regarding social networking and author promotion.

And finally, to wrap up the grab-bag I will answer some recent questions: Yes, I made the header for my blog. Made it from scratch.  I used a good camera to take a picture of the black coffee mug (with coffee in it) and then Photoshoped it into header greatness.  Back when I paid for hosting as well as a domain name, I had a series of headers all made by taking photos of objects on a large piece of white paper.

Ever been on a photo shoot?  Okay, better question: ever seen a photo shoot on America's Next Top Model?  You know how they have those white backdrops that curve from backdrop to floor covering without a harsh fold?  Yeah, that was my inspiration.  And for small objects, a piece of white printer paper held up with one hand works just as well as those fancy backdrops.  All other coffee mugs except the one at the top are stock photos found on the net.

I'm not in possession of the black coffee mug at the moment; it's living at my father's house where it is sheltered by sentimentality surrounding it of which this blog is a symptom rather than a cause.