Reflections
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J's REFLECTIONS
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| Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash |
"I believe that if someone wants to, they will, because when I wanted to, I did. I showed up even when I was drained and tired. I found time, even on my busiest days. I reprioritized instead of making excuses. There is time for what matters most to an individual." - Unknown
As I left a list of questions to be prompts on the A to Z blog, I felt I should answer them here on my blog.
MAP VISUAL of how the Challenge did for my blog this year:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/IWSG13
- How do you feel about the Theme Reveal?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I love it. It's a great way to preview what blogs will offer, and it increases participation and planning!
- In what ways does the reflection post help you?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I like to look back over the month and see if I've met my goals and review how well my blog has done.
- What experiences have you had in the past, or hope to have this year, with the Road Trip?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I get a few visits now and then because of it. With fewer challenge participants, it isn't as necessary as it once was.
- Does the HTML on the badges/ graphics page help you?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I find it helpful. I do a lot in HTML code.
- Did you meet your blogging goals in April?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I did!
- One goal was to comment on every blog on the Master List in April. I have done that. (With the exception to blogs that lacked an A to Z post or a way to comment: Personal Growth & Wellness, The English Explorer, Visits With Mary, Writing all along , The Madlab Post, Belles-Lettres, bneil.me, The Story Factory, CANDID CANINE: MINIS & BOOKS, Books Reviews and more - Cai)
- https://obliqview.blogspot.com/ I B Arora - Put the wrong website in the masterlist, but I got the right one from a comment. (The link in the Masterlist went to the blogger dashboard instead of a blog.)
- I LOVE the x posts. Those are my favorites to visit.
- What were your top five favorite blogs from the challenge to visit in April this year?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I left lots of comments on the myths and books posts of Ronel at https://www.ronelthemythmaker.com
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I enjoyed half a dozen of these https://crackerberries.wordpress.com/
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I commented on a lot of these random posts https://lawsofgravity.blogspot.com/
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - The most adorable 🥰 blog in the challenge https://georgesgpworld.uk/
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I like books https://jannghi.blogspot.com
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I really like books https://www.erinpenn.com/blog/
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - Janet usually has cheerful posts, but she went strong political this year, and I enjoyed it https://scr4pl80.com/
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - There were some great visuals here https://linzebrandon.blogspot.com
- Did a co-host (J Lenni Dorner, Arlee Bird, Zalka Csenge Virág, John Holton, Jayden R Vincente, or Ronel Janse van Vuuren) comment on your blog during the challenge?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I received at least 27 from Ronel.
- Is there a comment you received on your blog in April that is your favorite?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I had several!
- Who were your top comment-leavers this challenge, and did they do the challenge?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - In addition to Ronel's 💖... at least 24 from Liz A., at least 9 from Barbie of Crackerberries -- and both did the challenge
- Are there any other blog hops you regularly take part in?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - IWSG
- Did you discover anything interesting because of the Challenge?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I learned about a virtue that I would consider to be the opposite (corrupt) https://titli15081977.blogspot.com/2026/04/v-for-virtues.html
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I also found another blogger who is grateful for the blogging community, as I am. https://onceuponatimehappilyeverafteragain.blogspot.com/2026/04/have-mercy-this-has-been-longest-26.html
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I learned why celebrities are also called stars. https://uniquelymaladjustedbutfun.blogspot.com/2026/04/wishing-for-wing-zings-atozchallenge.html
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I learned of "Dendromancy (tree divination)" https://loribossert.com/2026/04/28/a-z-challenge-2026-x/
- Will you plan to do the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge in 2027, and why (or why not)?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I am the team captain, so you better believe I will!
- Will you recommend this blog hop to others?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I always do.
- If RoadTrippers only visit one of your Challenge posts, which would you suggest and why?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I would start with A. It sets the posts up and has an interesting question. https://jlennidorner.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-hearts-desire-atozchallenge-2026.html
- Do you plan to visit the A to Z site every month?
- 😎🐢🦃🐺 - I always do! I write some of those posts. 😏
MAP VISUAL of how the Challenge did for my blog this year:
Shout-out to Alex and the awesome co-hosts for today: Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi!
May 6 question -
What was the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers?There are several reviews I am grateful for, and here are highlights of two that were turned into images by AllAuthor during my Proof of Existence promo.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36273731-fractions-of-existence#CommunityReviews
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65150644-proof-of-existence?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_25#CommunityReviews
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43684969-writing-book-reviews-as-an-author#CommunityReviews
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53137131-lumber-of-the-kuweakunks#CommunityReviews
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/241082039-jewels-of-darterra#CommunityReviews
- Ronel is the only person to review Jewels of Darterra on Goodreads.
📚📖📗📘📙🛒🛍️🎉📲📔📕📗📘📚📦
Stuff Your Kindle (SYKD) = connect readers with free and discounted Kindle books
May 13th–18th
Buzzfest SYKD (All Genres)
Multi-genre indie author promotion event featuring romance, fantasy, thriller, horror, contemporary fiction, and more.
📚📚📚📚💙 — J (he/him 👨🏽 or 🧑🏽 they/them) ~🐢🦃🐺 Lenni Lenape ~ Speculative Fiction & Reference Author and Co-host of the April Blogging #AtoZChallenge
https://bsky.app/profile/jlennidorner.bsky.social My current favorite social media site.
https://amzn.to/41QBB4P Author page on Amazon — please consider following and supporting this indie author!
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-lenni-dorner I'm grateful for follows! https://www.goodreads.com/j_lenni_dorner
#AtoZChallenge a-to-zchallenge.com Kindly check out the blog hop's website. Watch for special features!
Excellent reflections post. Love how you answered all of the questions, used examples and shout outs to many bloggers. (Thank you, by the way.) I've yet to write my reflections post as I'm still mourning my kitty, but I will persevere and get it done one way or another. I will also try to get over to Good Reads... that's an awesome platform for authors.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Barbie
Sorry to hear about kitty.
DeleteGoodreads is good. I have two other sites (https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/jlennidorner, and https://bookdna.com/best-books/created-from-the-april-blogging-a-to-z-challenge) I can also suggest, for anyone who dislikes Goodreads because Amazon bought them.
Aw, this makes me sound awesome ;-) Thanks for the shout-out(s), J. Love you to bits.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great A-Z. My reflections post is up (early for me, shocking!).
You are awesome!
DeleteYou ARE awesome! And I'm so grateful you're on the team. Love you too!
DeleteJamie: Thanks for the shout out. I posted my reflections post last Friday.
ReplyDeletehttps://jannghi.blogspot.com/2026/05/blogging-to-z-reflections.html
Cool. You're welcome.
DeleteSounds like your Challenge posts were a big success. Lots of visitors from South Africa.
ReplyDeleteLike the way you highlighted those great comments.
Yeah. I only know two people there, but it looks like more came to view!
DeleteI love highlighting and recognizing people who have been kind to me, because I'm so grateful for their goodness. As I'm grateful for all the hard work you do for our blogging writer community!
I have not thought of the reveal list as a preview but it makes sense. But I think the date for the theme reveal post should be at the end of the March and not at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteI am a emoji-dumbbell. I don't really understand them and I couldn't see them too well but I assume those are happy-emojis that you are using with your answers. Thank you for hosting and keeping the challenge going.
Have a lovely day.
Ah, the great debate of theme reveal dates. It has moved around over the years. Sign up moved around. There was a time when people started to sign up for A to Z in January! Such was the eager anticipation of the event. But not everyone finds themselves able to take part once April rolls around. Likewise, putting the theme reveal too close to the event had people upset that there wasn't enough time to visit all of those posts before the event itself. And the number of people who mistook signing up for the theme reveal hop as signing up for the actual A to Z Challenge... a nightmare of confusion. So, we keep shuffling things to keep as many bloggers as possible happy.
DeleteI like emojis more than most guys do, I guess. Let's see if I can define them all for you, from this post.
😎🐢🦃🐺 - I used this combo to show my responses. The smiling sunglasses is just a cool dude, the "turtle, turkey, wolf" is part of the Lenni-Lenape tribal seal, because those are the three divisions of our tribe.
📚📖📗📘📙🛒🛍️🎉📲📔📕📗📘📚📦-- This was just to mark a section about an upcoming book event. It's books, shopping, celebration, kindle tablet, books, and a box.
📚💙 — J These books and blue heart are the mark of the Booksky group on the Bluesky social media platform. I'm a member.
I hope Pippin’s comment was on topic for your question! I popped in more often than I commented, but l’m lazy that way :) Thanks for all the work you do. ❤️
ReplyDeleteIt was adorable.
DeleteLooks like you had a fantastic month! I'm always grateful for any review too. Readers only have to say a little thing and it makes a big difference.
ReplyDeleteYes. So many readers are afraid to write reviews. But authors need reviews to get anywhere. It's like, if you can't write something powerful enough to get introverts to be willing to discuss it online, you'll never get past the algorithm.
DeleteIt was quite the month, wasn't it. Thanks for the shout out.
ReplyDeleteAlways is. Love it!
DeleteI agree with the others, it was a busy month and I didn't get to as many blogs as I wanted to. Only 49, but some more than once. Thanks for the shout-out, Lenni! See you next year!
ReplyDeleteGood to connect again. I'm glad I got to all the blogs (even if some had comment issues).
DeleteGlad to provide you with fun facts in my UniquelyMaladjustedButFun blog.
ReplyDeleteGreat that your books have pleasant reviews. More readers should write reviews!
Yes! I have a whole book of instructions to help with that.
DeleteThank you for the shout out! I love the blogging community though I am not as involved as I used to be a few years ago. A-Z April's one of my favourite things in the blogosphere. Thank you and the other co-hosts for all you do. Have a wonderful May.
ReplyDeleteI tried to visit more blogs this year than last. I'm still working on it! I loved Crackerberries posts, too. I didn't read all, but quite a few.
ReplyDeleteI love how you turned reviewers' comments into images.
ReplyDeleteAw! So much fun. I was watching from the sidelines this year...as we struggled to survive through a whole month of sickness. But hey, that's life. Maybe I'll jump in next year. =)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on those great comments, and for sharing them in such a creative way. Glad you made it through the AtoZ unscathed. Excellent job.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the A2Z. I have to mention that there seem to be some font-size issues here--a bunch of stuff is too tiny for my old eyes to make out. But you did a lot there.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the great comments for your book! And congrats on the A to Z challenge! (No, I did not send the email about the invitation. That was malware. Sorry you got it!)
ReplyDeleteLove the A-Z reflections. I tried A-Z exactly once, in 2020 when I was working at home like so many others and thought I'd have the time (spoiler alert: I didn't, or at least I didn't make the time to complete the challenge). But I wrote some good posts (IMHO) and enjoyed the experience. Maybe when I retire I'll try it again.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful collection of reflections. - Erin Penn
ReplyDelete