Blog renaissance

The author and her family, 2015, by Rick Heit Photography

 

Back in March, I posted this blog renaissance mission. I have had a few guests and have plans for more. Would you like to be included? See contact info at the end of the post.

Blog history 

Years ago, I produced week-long, special-event, promotional blog articles in collaboration with others. 

Over those years, I featured artists, writers, bloggers, other editors and proofreaders, photographers, sculptors, potters, graphic designers, jewelry makers, furniture makers, chefs, cooks, crafters, and more. 

The good feels

I felt good doing that. I am doing that again.  

Any time I can lift someone’s spirits – show their art or photos or jewelry or sculptures and share their passion with others – it gives me a warm fuzzy. 

It also helped me grow – in my perceptions and with creatives around the country and around the world.  

Resurrecting these partnerships

I would like to resurrect those special moments. Not in week-long events (man, that was a lot of work!), but with special events for anyone who has a book, artwork, or food truck launch or for creatives who simply want to share their special talents with my audience. 

All these blog features will be shared to my FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

Contact me

If you are interested in a special-event feature on my blog, use the Contact Form or send an email – karenrsanderson@midco.net.

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Links to a handful of previous collaborations –  

Emmett Russell – Furniture maker and metal sculpturist – from 2015

Chris Eboch – Myths about writing for children – from 2015

Photographer Rick Heit – Interview with Rick Heit epic photographer – from 2015

Editor spotlight with Darlene Elizabeth Williams – Editor Spotlight – from 2014 

My Main Street with Minot’s Main Street Books – My Main Street – from 2013

Darlene Foster – Darlene Foster, tweens author – from 2013

Elizabeth H. Cottrell – Tools for touching hearts and lives – from 2013

Shawn MacKenzie – You are your words – from 2013

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Note – One of my greatest pleasures is when I present a guest in the best possible light. I will take more care with your blog appearance than with my own. I reserve the right to edit your submission.

Rick Heit Photography

For more info on Rick Heit Photography in Minot, ND, click here.

Blog renaissance

Shawn MacKenzie’s
“Llewellyn’s Little Book of Dragons”

Blog history 

Years ago, I produced week-long, special-event, promotional blog articles in collaboration with others. 

Over those years, I featured artists, writers, bloggers, other editors and proofreaders, sculptors, potters, graphic designers, jewelry makers, furniture makers, chefs, cooks, crafters, and more. 

The good feels

I felt good doing that. I want to do that again.  

Any time I can lift someone’s spirits – show their art or design or hard work – and share their passion with others, it gives me a warm fuzzy. 

It also helped me grow – in my perceptions and with creatives and their media around the country and the world.  

Resurrecting these partnerships

I would like to resurrect those special moments. Not in week-long events (man, that was a lot of work!), but with special events for anyone who has a book, artwork, or food truck launch or for creatives who simply want to share their special talents with my audience. 

All these blog features will be shared to my FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn. 

Contact me

If you are interested in a special-event feature on my blog, use the Contact Form or send an email – karenrsanderson@midco.net.

******

Links to a handful of previous collaborations –  

Emmett Russell – Furniture maker and metal sculpturist – from 2015

Chris Eboch – Myths about writing for children – from 2015

Photographer Rick Heit – Interview with Rick Heit epic photographer – from 2015

Editor spotlight with Darlene Elizabeth Williams – Editor Spotlight – from 2014 

My Main Street with Minot’s Main Street Books – My Main Street – from 2013

Darlene Foster – Darlene Foster, tweens author – from 2013

Elizabeth H. Cottrell – Tools for touching hearts and lives – from 2013

Shawn MacKenzie – You are your words – from 2013

******

Note – One of my greatest pleasures is when I present a guest in the best possible light. I will take more care with your blog appearance than with my own. I reserve the right to edit your submission.

Another note – This article was edited by Shawn MacKenzie. However, any mistakes that remain are mine. 

Find YOUR Sharkies

 

Then

In June, 2015, I gathered a handful of fellow writers, bloggers, and editors at my brother and sister-in-law’s home in Newark, Delaware. People I had been corresponding with and writing with and editing with for years before that. 

Because I was hawking myself as The Word Shark, “The Sharkies” became a reality. Each professional and experienced attendee had their chance to present, share, and educate the others. We had robust writing exercises and discussions. 

Now

We come from North Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. 

Even with covid, we have managed to continue to meet about every quarter to share, encourage, and commiserate on our successes and failures, via zoom. 

We had one such meeting yesterday, Saturday, 11/13. 

Sharkies rule! 

Always

I always come away from these get-togethers with a clear vision for what else I want to do, what else I need to do, with pages full of notes and inspiration, and an I’m-oh-so-grateful feeling for this group. 

If you’re a writer, 

Find YOUR Sharkies.

A Legendary North Dakota Conference Experience

 A Legendary North Dakota Conference Experience

I have attended numerous national conferences, and not one of them compared to the intimate (and awesome!) North Dakota Bloggers & Writers Conference I recently attended in Fargo, ND. Not only did I connect with writers from North Dakota, Minnesota, and Canada, but I experienced Fargo for the first time.

Before the conference kick off, my BFF and I visited The Rourke Art Museum.

Wine cellar at the Hotel Donaldson

Sunday Evening Walk About

Attendees gathered Sunday evening at the Radisson and paraded over to the Hotel Donaldson for a tour of a couple of their unique artist-inspired rooms, the wine cellar, and their distinctive work-out room. That was followed by hors d’ouveres at the Donaldson’s HODO Restaurant. Other stops in downtown included Unglued Craft Market, olive oils and balsamics at Pinch and Pour, and brews at Wurst Bier Hall.

Pinch and Pour

Conference Day 

Monday’s conference started with a scrumptious breakfast of fresh fruit, bagels and pastries, coffee, tea, and juices.

Morning Presentations 

Rachel Hutton – Editor, Minnesota Monthly

Freelance Writers Panel

Freelance Writers Panel with Jessie Veeder Scofield, Jennifer Dewey Rohrich, and Amity Moore

Moderator, Beth Schatz Kaylor, blogger at Rhubard and Venison

More Yummies

Lunch was presented with panache…pasta salad, seasoned potatoes, zucchini and squash with peppers and onions, and roast au jus.

Kim Jondahl, North Dakota State Historical Soceity

Afternoon Presentations

Kim Schmidt – North Dakota Tourism

Kim Jondahl – North Dakota State Historical Society

Nicole Moen – Fargo-Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau

Roundtables

Afternoon roundtables included Writing Blogs That People Love with Jessie Veeder Scofield, Visit with the Editor with Rachel Hutton, Photography Inspired with Jennifer Dewey Rohrich, and Writing Tips and Tricks with Amity Moore.

Kim Schmidt (center) at the Hotel Donaldson tour

Final Presentation

Passion with a Purpose – Tony, Sarah, and Gio Nasello of Sarello’s Restaurant and Wine Lounge in Moorhead, MN, and of Home with the Lost Italian.

Breaking Up

We broke up. I didn’t want to leave. I felt like I had new friends all over the state!

Display of the reconstruction at the Hotel Donaldson

Other Bloggers

Here are the resulting blog posts about the conference. And many of these blogs have incredible North Dakota photos.

Allison “A. J.” Bauers of The Covert Extravert with A Guide for First-Time Conference Attendees

Sarah and Tony Nasello of Home with the Lost Italian, Staking Our Claim as North Dakotans

Roxane Beauclair Salonen, thePeace Garden Writer, Secret Spaces

Jessie Veeder Scofield of Meanwhile, back at the ranch with A North Dakota Story

Devin Berglund writes The ND Writing & Blogging Workshop, Through My Eyes

Jenny Dewey Rohrich, The Prairie Californian, with Refreshing My Passion for North Dakota