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BLARGH: WHAT IS BLARGH?

Thursday, May 7, 2009

WHAT IS BLARGH?

What Is BLARGH?

 

Blargh is blog written by someone with some trepidation about blogging. Someone like me.

 

When told I “had to” have a website to promote my work, I understood and obediently made one. (See? It’s not that I have a problem with authority at all.) But when told my site “had to” have a blog, that I did not get. How important could blogging be when Microsoft Word still underlines “blog” with a red squiggle to indicate misspelling? And what, exactly, would I blog about—my day-to-day?

 

As in:

Wake up, feed beasts, perform ablutions, sit in front of computer. Occasionally scratch butt. Occasionally do chores. All the action/adventure/romance (of which there’s plenty) goes on internally. Nothing is more boring than the life of a novelist. I’d rather read a blog by a blade of grass (actually, that would probably be fascinating).

 

Plus, I have this problem with “I” unless writing a story in the first person and “I” has nothing to do with me. It’s not that I don’t have an enormous ego—I do. I just don’t like to advertise it. I! I! I! I! It makes me want to take a shower.

 

But, you know, I live to serve. Hence, this compromise—this blargh. Despite my discomfort with the first-person pronoun I will blargh here on a regular basis. It will be (warning) in the interest of selling my books but also, I hope, in the interest of inspiring and encouraging others to write books and to read books as well. And if anyone has a “comment” it would be perfectly cool with me if it were a question.

 

Fortunately for me, during the first month or so of this website going live—corresponding with the release of my novel SWOON (which you may feel free to purchase at any time), I’ll split the duties with others. Someone told me of guest blogging and I was keen on that, convincing some exceptionally talented and popular novelists (Melissa de la Cruz! Gayle Forman! Eileen Cook! Robin Wasserman! Others!) to tell all in a blog essay (blessay?) “My First Swoon.” Their stories are coming soon to this very space, and they’re very sweet and very real.

 

I also urge you, in your comments, to post your own “My First Swoon.” Lots of times when I connect with readers I ask if you write, too—often you say you’d like to but don’t know what to write about. Well, here’s a topic! And a contest! Submit your “My First Swoon” by 30 June 2009 and I’ll pick my favorite, sending the winner a signed copy of SWOON.

 

As for me, I’ve elected not to blargh about my own “First Swoon.” Not because it’s an embarrassing, rather painful story but because I wonder if anyone’ll even visit this site in the first place. So if I get enough requests that I “have to” offer the painful details of my first swoon, I’ll do so. Since like I said, I live to serve. Even if it involves blarghing.

17 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I was there from the first time I picked up "6X" and I'll sure as hell be here until you Blargh your last Blargh.

As for your first Swoon, I'm pretty sure I've already told you all about mine, so, fair-is-fair...kidding!

-Gracie

May 9, 2009 at 2:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

YES you have to tell the readers about your first swoon pretty please with two cherries on top (unless you dont like fruit)! As for me, I've had school crushes but I don't think I've really swooned for anyone special--except Rob Pattinson, the well-known British leading man in Twilight. :D

May 10, 2009 at 10:06 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Ha!!! speaking of SWOON I loved it. I had a swoon or have i think my swoon is still in the process of betraying me. If i would have known have a first love feel like this i woulda returned mine. But I'm stuck, I am really praying (lol of course i am it was suck an amazing book) that you can some how make a sequel.

May 11, 2009 at 8:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I got swoon today and I wanted to tell you about my first swoon. I met him when I was nineteen. We had a whirlwind love affair which produced my ten year old son. He left and than came back more times than i can count.
Finally going into the army to become a "Man" and learn some self control. He did this to stop cheating on me with his new roommate and whatever friend he felt was worth it.

When he came home after almost three years in Korea, he was ready to settle down. I was pleased and thought the worst was behind me.

That is until three months later when he told me he was living with a girl in korea and she left the military to come and live with him here. When i asked why, he told me she was going to have his baby and they were getting married. So now, he sees our son on the weekends and i have to see this woman who at no fault of her own, since she did not know about me or our son until she moved here and he told him. She is nice and i like her, but i feel she is living the life i was promised. Meanwhile,i still love him and harbor tons of ill feelings for.

Sad story over,

Amy

May 18, 2009 at 7:57 PM  
Blogger ~The Book Pixie said...

Your book Swoon sounds so Awesome! I'm just dying to get my hands on a copy. I saw the video on your site and it just made me want to read it even more. A truly creative idea for a book. I even have it as my Featured Book of the Month on my blog.

As for my first swoon, well I've never really swooned over anyone. Food maybe. lol. I know, sad right. Maybe one day it'll happen. *sigh* So much for the contest.

I actually am writing a book, though. It is a historical fiction novel set in the holocaust. It is a bit of a slow go right now though.

May 19, 2009 at 6:50 AM  
Blogger BookHounds said...

OMG -- I just loved Swoon. I can only hope that another book is in the works.

My first swoon was the foreign exchange student from Argentina with blonde hair and blue eyes....

May 19, 2009 at 11:51 AM  
Blogger Ileana said...

My first swoon was in in first grade.
I met my first best friend John,
and I had a major crush on him.
We both realized that we lived right next door and when we first saw each other,
WE ran towards one another and embraced each other for like 5 minutes straight.
Then we hung out as his house and he had a sofa where you could stick your head underneath the cushions...
so we did...
And he asked me to kiss him....
I asked him where and he said whereever you want and I kissed his nose...
It was SO adorable!
And a moment I'll NEVER forget...
:)

May 22, 2009 at 3:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My first "swoon" was with this guy I like Micheal, I was really shy around him. He would always copy off of my paper. We were on a school trip when he took my phone and put his number in it.

At the last school dance I was telling my friends about how I wanted to dance with him, so they told me they would ask him, but they just kept dancing. I finally got up the courage to ask him myself, so I waited until the last dance, I asked him to dance with me and he said that he would.

May 22, 2009 at 3:46 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

My first swoon was in kindergarten. I just liked this guy Johnny a whole lot and one day while we were both waiting for our parents to pick us up, i just leaned over and kissed him. I don't think he appreciated it much, seeing as he didn't say anything and left soon after. lol oh well.

May 22, 2009 at 3:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

1st grade VALENTINE'S DAY! i was kinda bad so i had to stand n the back of the bathroom line, while we're lined up this guy goes above and beyond the call of 1st grade duty by giving me a basket of hearts and a bear. i took off in the opposite direction while chants of AMBER and V SITTING IN A TREE followed me down the halls. later some messenger girl delivers the basket to me with a COODIE comment... never went to the restroom, ended up peeing on myself . 1st graders n ga shouldn swoon lol

May 23, 2009 at 10:04 AM  
Blogger Lenore Appelhans said...

Yes! Tell us about your first swoon!

Adored SWOON by the way. Posted my rave review all over.

May 24, 2009 at 11:55 PM  
Blogger Sabrina said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

May 25, 2009 at 12:48 PM  
Blogger Sabrina said...

okay, my first swoon was a couple of weeks ago and I still can't get my mind off of it. My best friend's cousin came down from Michigan to visit her, but I'm over there a lot, and so I got to see him. For the whole 10 days he was here, there was an obvious attraction between us. (oh, I almost forgot. we're 13 in 7th grade) We flirted the entire time. But on the last night he was here, it was like eleven o' clock and we went to the movies. He and I sat away from everyone else and partway through the movie, he asked if it was okay to put his arm around me! (obvioiusly I said yes)
Anyways, for the whole rest of the movie, I was nearly hyperventilating. In fact, I wouldn't have been surprised if I fainted. It was like a fairy tale. I just layed their against his chest with his arms wrapped around me...

*swoon*

May 25, 2009 at 12:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

honestly i would really love to hear about ur first swoon. it interst me
pretty please?
:)

May 25, 2009 at 4:45 PM  
Blogger Carrie said...

Wow! I just bought SWOON today and can't wait to read it and of course like all my other books I check out the author's website first.... you are freakin' hilarious! I've just spent 2 hours reading your blargh posts and FREAQS page and seriously I have tears running down my face... and I'm at work!!!
... and totally off topic, I love the colours of your website and blogspot. All my favourite colours!

May 27, 2009 at 7:09 AM  
Blogger McCaulie said...

Nina - I can't wait to read this book!! As for my first swoon, that would be my hubby :) I know it sounds totally cheezy but when I met my husband when I was 15 I will never forget how my heart fluttered. We became best friends along the way and after we mixed and mingeled we settled down in a relationship when I was 24. Now we're very happily married and I guess my heart always knew he was the one.

June 1, 2009 at 10:00 AM  
Blogger *V said...

I'm so excited I found this in time to enter. I have been wanting to read your book for months now!

My first swoon was in kindergarten. I was so enraptured with this boy from the first day of school that one day during story time I could contain myself no longer and I planted a big kiss on his cheek. His response was Ewww! Then he wiped it off his face an onto the bowl haircut of the boy sitting in front of him. Strangely, no one else in the class was aware of what happened and it did not damage our friendship, he just thought it was weird that i did that. For the next few years, until I moved away, we would teasingly ask the boy that sat in front of him if he'd washed his hair, and then we'd laugh. He never did find out why we were always asking!

June 29, 2009 at 2:53 PM  

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