Saturday, August 23, 2014

The Writer's Alley New Design Celebration With Giveaways!


Welcome to the new and improved Writer's Alley!

We are thrilled with our new look, done by the fabulous Designer Blogs. It's clean, bright, and oh-so-chic. We even have our very own alley cat in the upper right hand corner of the header. We are so excited about our new design, we have decided to celebrate with a Facebook Party next Saturday, August 30, 2014, from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. (MDT). There will be giveaways throughout the day, with a grand prize at the end of the party. There is a Rafflecopter Widget at the end of the post with instructions for entering for the giveaways.

But first, let's take a tour of The Writer's Alley.

TABS: Just under the header are five tabs that will lead you to what The Alley has to offer.

  • Home - This is the place where our latest blog post will show up
  • Meet The Alley Cats - This is the page where you can find out who the Alley Cats are and what they are all about. You can see what they look like and there are links to their personal blogs and social media platforms.
  • Our Books - This is the special place where you can find the fabulous books the Alley Cats have published. Hopefully one day, this page will be full of books by every Alley Cat.
  • Categories - This page lists six categories that all of The Alley's posts fall under. You can click on the category link to see the latest posts in these areas.
                    Writing Craft - Covers the nuts and bolts of writing: plot, characterization, dialogue, conflict,                                            self-editing, story structure, etc.
                    Publication - Covers everything involved with getting published: query and proposal writing,                                           pitching to agents, one sheets, self-publishing, etc.
                    Marketing - Covers building platform, social media, and selling your novel once it's been                                                  published.
                    Inspiration - Any post meant to encourage or commiserate with others on the writing journey.
                    The Writer's Life - Covers topics such as time management, organization, packing for                                                         conferences, best apps for writers, favorite books, etc
                    Author Cafe - Interviews with authors.

  • The Resource Cafe - This is the place where we have listed some of our favorite resources for writing. We have books and websites that are full of tools to help you on your way to publication. 

SIDEBAR:

  • Connect - There are icons to email us, follow us on Facebook, or follow us through Bloglovin'. 
  • Subscribe - This is where you can enter your email (We will never, ever share it!) and have our blog posts come to your email inbox.
  • Search - This is the place where you can easily find a post on a certain topic. Simply type in a topic and if we have posted about it, then it will show up for you.
  • Photographs - We have listed our contributors here in pictorial form. We like to call ourselves the Alley Cats.
  • Alley Pals - This is a slideshow of Alley Cats with our Alley Pals. We love our friends and snap pics with them at all the conferences. 
  • Popular Posts - Each contributor has one of their most popular posts listed here.
  • Blog Archive - Each post is archived by month and year.
  • Followers - This lists our followers and give you a chance to become one through Google Connect.
  • Grab Our Button - We have a fabulous new button and have given you the code to add to your blog or website.
  • Giveaway Guidelines - Here we have our guidelines and rules regarding our giveways here at The Alley. 
You have officially been given the tour of our beautiful site and we hope you will come back often. As our tagline says, The Writer's Alley is a place where friends and stories meet. We hope you can make a home here and enjoy the journey of publication with us.

We've got our line-up for next week and awesome links for you to enjoy. And above all...don't forget to sign up for the great giveaway below!


The Weekly Line-Up

Monday - Angie has got a great Top 10 post for you...something about spouses and writers. Should be awesome!
Tuesday - Julia is going to be talking about how vulnerability leads to creativity. Can't wait!
Wednesday - Karen's post for the day is all about how your personality type affects your writing.
Thursday - Ashley is hosting Allen Arnold at The Alley and is sure to please.
Friday - Amy will be bringing more of her sunny self as she shares something wonderful for us to learn.

The Awesome Link Round-Up

Become A Better Writer With 51 Mind-blowing Resources (Positive Writer)

10 Quotes to Kickstart Your Inspiration for Writing (Write to Done)

Are Your Writing Dreams Unrealistic? (Aliventures)

Six Easy Tips for Self-Editing (Kristen Lamb)

Why Writers Self-Destruct and 5 Ways to Thrive Instead (Positive Writer)

GIVEAWAYS!

For the big giveaway at the end of our Facebook party August 30, we are giving away The Writer's Alley New Design Launch Basket containing the following:

  • $20 Amazon gift card
  • Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg (paperback book)
  • Sandwich, with a Side of Romance by Krista Phillips (paperback book)
  • A Side of Faith by Krista Phillips (paperback book)
  • Duchess by Susan May Warren (autographed paperback book)
  • Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Squares
  • A Writer's Conference Jamberry PediPack 

Throughout the day of our Facebook party August 30, we will be giving away the following:
  • A Side of Faith by Krista Phillips (ebook)
  • A Home At Trail's End by Melody Carlson (paperback book)
  • $10 Amazon gift card
  • Captured by Love by Jody Hedlund (paperback book)
  • The Writer's Toolbox
  • Showdown by Ted Dekker (paperback book)Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz (paperback book)
  • Vanished by Irene Hannon (paperback book)
**UPDATE (8/30/2014) WINNERS OF GIVEAWAYS!**

The winners are:
Of the GRAND PRIZE winner: Naomi Musch!!
A Home at Trail's End: Bonnie Roof
Captured by Love: Melanie De Jong
A Side of Faith: Joanne Sher and Jillian Weatherholt
$10 Amazon card: Robin Elizabeth Mason
The Writer's Toolbox: Gabrielle Meyer
The Heiress of Winterwood: Vicki Haase Marney
Showdown: Jeanne Takenaka
Love's Reckoning: Debbie Fitzgerald-Stehlick
Vanished: Dana Black
The Nighttime Writer: Sarah Forgrave

Congratulations to all the winners! And thank you all for making The Writer's Alley such a special place! We love you and appreciate you!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


45 comments:

Karen @ a house full of sunshine said...

AAAAAAHHHHHHHH, so exciting!!!! Yay for the new design! Great tour, thanks Sherrinda!

Joanne Sher said...

Love love LOVE the new design! AND the Alley Cats :) I'm still here reading - even if I don't comment as much as I used to. You're kinda not in my genre anymore, but my devotion can be seen by the fact that I am STILL a poster on occasion :D

Will definitely try to pop over to the party next Saturday. FUN!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Joanne!!! We love you! So what genre are you writing in? Non-fiction? We might need to remedy that oversight. Thank you, sweet Alley Pal, for sticking with u.! We appreciate you!

Janet Benlien Reeves said...

I love your new design! Cute how the header coordinates with the background. I'm going to go explore now!

Emily Ann Putzke said...

I love the new look!!

Emily Ann Putzke said...

My favorite part of the design is the header...so lovely! =)

Emily Ann Putzke said...

My favorite part of the design is the header...so lovely! =)

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

@Janet Thank you! That is one of the things I love too...the houses in the background that coordinate with the header. The designer was spot on!

@Emily Thank you! I happen to love the little alley cat in the right side of the header. I think it ties it all together.

Amy Leigh Simpson said...

Yayyy!!!! So excited!

Mary Vee Storyteller said...

I really like our new home. Cozy. Inviting. Ready to share tips, stories, helps, WOW.

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Amy and Mary, it's funny how it fits us, isn't it? Fun, cute, (we are the cutest things EVER, right?) and with a wealth of information. (snort)

Ahhhh, it's gonna be awesome here.

Angie Dicken said...

I love the little kitty in the corner! What a fabulous place to spend a Saturday morning. Love being an AlleyCat and sharing with Alley Pals!

Rachelle O'Neil said...

I think the new design is awesome! I've been enjoying it all week. :)I think my favorite part is how comfortable and accessible it feels. And you all have such fabulous giveaways! Very fun!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Rachelle, you made our day! We want it to be comfortable and accessible...a place to learn and grow with ease. So glad you like it!

Rachelle O'Neil said...

Yay, I love making people's days! :)

Jon and Vicki Marney said...

Very nice--I look forward to getting lots of fun & tips, as a newbie aspiring writer.
Vicki

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Vicki!!! We love newbies here at The Alley. In truth, I am still the newbie of the group. I have the least manuscripts written and the least experience. But I learn so much from the Alley Cats here and I know you will too!

Dana Black said...

Ladies, this new look is fantastic! I love the color scheme, and the little alley cat is so cute! Everything is very clean and easy to read, which is really important for a blog. :) How fun.

Anonymous said...

YAY! Welcome, Vicki!! This is a great place for encouragement. Also, make sure you check out Seekerville too. Between the two of us, we can give you some GREAT tips for writing along the way :-)

Pepper

Anonymous said...

I'm so in love with this artwork. Karen, you are a SUPER STAR!! Thanks for pulling it all together and Sherrinda - You're intro of our party is phenomenal.
I write with the coolest people!

Love you cats!

Pepper

Ashley Clark said...

YAY! I am so excited about the upcoming blog party!!! Thanks to all of you who've stopped by so far! Spread the word! :D

H. R. Sinclair said...

The new design is awesome. Congrats.

Karen @ a house full of sunshine said...

Awww, you're too sweet!!

Susan Anne Mason said...

Congratulations on your new design! Looks great!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Thanks, Susan Anne! We love you!

Joanne Sher said...

Sherrinda - I'm writing children's books now - picture books to be more specific. And there is still REALLY good stuff here for ANY writer. It's just that PBs are SO different from every other genre, yanno. But I am still TOTALLY blessed by you ladies (I just skip the romance-related posts until I have some of that copious free time I've heard rumors about).

Unknown said...

Lovely design!
Elizabeth
www.walkingthewrittenpath.wordpress.com

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Joanne, I love that! Picture books are such a great thing to do! Do you also illustrate? In some ways I think writing PB books would be even harder. Fewer words...capturing the readers short attention span...I'm just so impressed! I'm so glad you are still stopping by. ;)

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Liz, thanks so much for stopping by! We appreciate you!

Savanna Kaiser said...

Love the new design!! How fun. :) Thanks for the giveaways. I'm looking forward to Saturday!

Nancy K. Sullivan said...

I love the welcoming atmosphere. This looks like a fun place to spend an afternoon :)

Anne Payne said...

I like the tie in of the Brownstone's and the word 'Alley'. Very creative design and color scheme. Makes me feel calm and welcome.

Unknown said...

I just found Writer's Alley, but I love how easy it is to find all of the resources I need as a writer. The cheerful design and user-friendly pages are inviting and helpful.

Naomi Musch said...

Just found writers' alley. Very clean, informative blog! I really loved the post by Allen Arnold. What an encouragement! Looking forward to following.

Anonymous said...

just read the post by Allen Arnold - OH.MY.GOODNESS! so spot on, so timely, so needed!!! here's to all of us, balancing, juggling, swatting cats out of the way or typing around them, knowing there are dishes in the sink.....
discovered the site via this post, and I must say, I do like it, and can't wait to get familiar with it. anybody have time to stroll thru the alley with me..... O.o
won't let me post with my blog ID, so I post anonymously and leave my ID here:
robinsnest212.wordpress.com

Donna said...

I really needed to hear what Allen Arnold shared!
I'll be sure to stop by Saturday!

Kelly Bridgewater said...

Love your new design. I pray God blesses your words and allows you to keep encouraging others. Thanks!

Tea Time said...

Hi! I love the new look. Very inviting. Looks like a quaint downtown Main Street. I love all the pictures of you too. Loved loved loved today's post. Just what I needed. Time with God. Just me and Him. His timing is perfect. Thanks!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Thanks to all who have commented! I know many of your have come after reading Allen Arnold's post and have been so blessed by it. We hope that you find motivation, encouragement and love here at The Writer's Alley.

Gabrielle Meyer said...

Beautiful new design!! Congrats, ladies. :)

Melanie said...

I love the header the best -- so cute! :)

Bonnie Traher said...

So much to see and do.

Bonnie Roof said...

Love the way the writer's names stand out - also the colors on the site, the blue and orange grab your attention!!

bonnieroof60(at)yahoo(dot)com

Come Go Home With Me said...

Congrats on the fantastic new design! Love the cat!!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Thank you all so much for your great comments! You are welcome here any time!