Welcome to my 2015 #AtoZChallenge Reflections post.
My theme was all about characters from books I’d read, plus each day I ran a book title challenge. I encouraged readers to think up book titles using the alphabet letter of the day in their titles to photos I gave them. The audience participation was fun and added another dimension to my posts.
I had a great tour visiting lots of really different blogs I would never normally find. Each day I gave links to 5 randomly chosen bloggers also taking part from the sign up list. Some folks never made it to the challenge or dropped out which was a little disappointing when visiting.
I really enjoyed taking part in little extras like giveaways, chances to have my name in a book, etc
Every year I take part in the challenge my followers increase and my site traffic improves it’s a great community to be a part of.
The easiest blogs to visit for me are other WordPress bloggers because I’m set up with WordPress myself and it makes commenting easy, the same will be said by those who use BlogSpot, they’ll find navigating another Blogspotter easier, there are also many other styles of blogs out there. Do you tend to visit other like minded blog styles or do you enjoy the challenge of seeing a different blog?
I’m not a great one for the stats, but another blog I read inspired me to check mine out for April and I found I had 5651 views with a daily average of 188, not bad for a month’s haul.
Here are links to some blogs I enjoyed throughout the tour;
Hilary over at Positive letters taught me all about Cornwall http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/
Elizabeth Hein had a wonderful tour posting all about the Galapagos islands https://scribblinginthestorageroom.wordpress.com/
Diane Coto at FictionZeal.com had a great mystery book theme
Alison Williams gave us writing Tips https://alisonwilliamswriting.wordpress.com/
Luccia Gray chatted about books and authors http://lucciagray.com/
Here are links to all my posts for those who want to catch up.
A for Anne Haddon – An Englishwoman’s Guide To the Cowboy by June Kearns http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sw
B for Beynn Firehand – Eyes Of The Enemy by Kelly Hess http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sy
C for Charlee Montague – Boot Camp Bride by Lizzie Lamb http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sA
D for Dermot Finnegan – Secrets Of The Heart by Adrienne Vaughan http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sC
E for Emily Braden – Dreaming Of Love by Melissa Foster http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sE
F for James Finn – Business As Usual by E.L. Lindley http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sG
G for Garnet Sullivan – The Devil, the Diva and The Deep Blue Sea by Margaret Langstaff http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sI
H for Rose Haldane – Ignoring Gravity by Sandra Danby http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sK
I for Isabella Lanchester – Last Child by Terry Tyler http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sM
J for John Steel – Rise of The Phoenix by Phill Syron-Jones http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sO
K for Kate Wolsley – The Orchid Tree by Siobhan Daiko http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sQ
L for Lottie Brinkley – Stable Mates by Zara Stoneley http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sS
M for Matthew Hopkins – The Black Hours by Alison Williams http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sU
N for Nin – Marked for Magic by Daisy Banks http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sW
O for Rose O’Carroll – I Listened To My Heart by Rosemary Gallagher http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6sY
P for Mrs Parish – Motherlove by Thorne Moore http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6t0
Q for Quetzalcoatl – The Obsidian Mirror by K.D Keenan http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6t2
R for Rhe Brewser – Death In A Dacron Sail by Noelle Granger http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6t4
S for Samuel – The Broken Angel by Monica La Porta http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6t6
T for Tiola Oldstagh – Sea Witch by Helen Hollick http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6t8
U for Uther Pendragon – The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6ta
V for Vince Crow – Trading Vincent Crow by D.C.J Wardle http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6tc
W for Sergeant Winston Windflower – A Twist Of Fortune by Mike Martin http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6te
X for Xania – Humming by Rachel McAlpine http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6tg
Y for Yvette – The Mystery Box by Eva Pohler http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6ti
Z for Joss Zebediah – Yesterday’s News by Sam Cheever http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-6tk
Nice recap. I like to visit other WP sites since the comments can go directly without an elaborate sign in process. I really hate when you finish the process and the site still won’t let you post. Also many of the Captiva letters I can’t read. I might be a robot after all.
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I know what you mean John and I don’t enjoy signing up for other sites just so I can leave a comment or even so I can share on Twitter, if there are too many hoops to jump I just jump ship without sharing I’m afraid.
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Me too (don’t tell anyone.) 🙂
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You sure are organized, Rosie. Bravo. 🙂 ❤
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Thanks Tess
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You are more than welcome, Rosie. ❤
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Hi Rosie – thanks for the shout out to my a – z theme. You have wonderful reflections from the challenge. And, I forgot to get my survivor button, so thanks for that reminder. 🙂
@dino0726 from
FictionZeal – Impartial, Straighforward Fiction Book Reviews
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My pleasure Diane, I did enjoy joining in with your posts and your list of daily shout outs gave me more blogs to visit too.
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Thanks for the mention Rosie and for your support throughout the challenge 🙂 Really enjoyed your posts too.
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Thanks Alison, you had some great editing tips for authors during the challenge.
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I really liked your book title challenge – what a great way to come up with new story ideas!
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Thanks Annabelle, it was fun.
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Thank you for mentioning my blog, Rosie. I enjoyed your posts and taking part in the challenge too!
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Lovely, thanks Luccia.
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‘Fraid I was one who started with good intentions with this and failed through abysmal lack of idea. Found your posts ideal for casting around other blogs and posts. So, as always, much admiration for your brilliant organisation. Thanks Rosie. Been away for a day so only just catching up.
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That’s a shame Judith, perhaps you will find lots of ideas for next year.
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Reblogged this on Barrow Blogs.
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It’s easier to visit wordpress blogs than other blogs. That’s mostly what I did, because of sheer convenience.
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Thanks Sonia, I do understand.
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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Thanks Rosie so much for the shout out – I must visit some of the others you mention. I’m keeping clear til the end of the week … as I’m finishing off another major project and am determined not to get side tracked!
I note the WP challenges though … but I just found by creating a WP account it solved all problems, and I guess the same with Blogspot …. cheers Hilary
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What I should of put in …. of course …. is G+ – some blogs I really couldn’t find … and gave up … H
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Thanks Hilary great feedback.
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If it hadn’t been for the Challenge I would have never found your blog, which I have followed for several years now and continue to enjoy. I love participating and only get pecked when a site is hard to navigate and wastes my time. Your blog is a great example of how to do it.
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Many thanks Stepheny.
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The different blogging platforms has appeared in many reflections post as a source of some frustrations. I’m on blogger but I don’t mind most wordpress blogs except sometime they want you to sign in using disques or some other thing and that frustrates me. Congrats on finishing and much admiration for a great theme and all the work you did.
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Thanks Susan, yes I don’t want to be signing up for different systems just to leave a comment or even to share the post on social media.
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SO enjoyed all your posts Rosie and the brain stretch for titles! You were also so kind to give shout outs to all the authors. Getting to posts only now …
Good luck for voting coming up in the U.K.
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Thanks Susan, I hoped the book title challenge was interesting even if the day’s chosen book and it’s genre wasn’t of interest to the bloggers.
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Thank you for the consistent visits and comments throughout the challenge, Rosie!
I really appreciate it! 🙂
I enjoyed your theme – and especially creating the book titles… that was up my alley! I’m just sorry that I didn’t have enough time to participate on a daily basis…
Hilary over at Positive Letters has such a lovely blog – really eclectic and informative!
I visited Elizabeth’s Galapagos Islands theme once or twice…
See you next year for the 2016 Challenge! 😀
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And Thank you Michelle, some of your book titles were really great.
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Hi Rosie; Sounds like you had a successful A-Z! 🙂 Sorry I didn’t get a chance to visit earlier. Hoping to be better organized, next time. Thanks for dropping by. Cheers!
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Thanks Debbie.
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Hello there.
Congratulations on completing the challenge!
I remember visiting your blog during my AtoZ journey because I believe I submitted a book title suggestion too. 😉
Thanks also for paying me a visit along the way.
Entrepreneurial Goddess
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Thanks, the book title aspect was very enjoyable, now I’ll have to think of something else for next year.
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Congratulations on making it! I don’t mind the platform, but I found it a challenge sometimes finding HOW to leave a comment. Something bloggers need to look into. Out of Africa – Reflections on the Challenge
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Thanks Shirley, definitely a learning curve.
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Congrats on completing the A to Z Challenge! Looking forward to next year! See you on the Road Trip!
Mary @ Jingle Jangle Jungle
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