Nearly one month old

March 2, 2012 marks the birth of Desert Villa. Along the evolution of the blog, I discovered a few tips that I’ll share with fellow and prospective bloggers –

Promote what you absolutely love!

Create an About page – Think of the about page as a book jacket. The purpose of the blog is solidified in a few tidy sentences. Note that the about page is different than an about me page.

Establish a consistent writing schedule.

Type a post as a word document first. Not everyone has access to a personal editor to catch pesky grammatical errors.

Seek permission from people before you write about them. Or...let people know when you mention them on your blog.

Give credit where credit is due. If necessary, ask for permission to use an image.

Hyper-link referenced sites (Thank you, S.S.).

Post an interesting video clip and credit the source from which it came. Write a brief commentary about the clip.

Moderate comments. 

Comment on blogs that you applaud.

Distribute your blog to social media sites via dlvr.it.

Ask for feedback. Ask questions. A blog should be interactive!

A multitude of other blogging tips exist. Feel free to share!

My favorite children's book

Several years ago, my friend, who I met in a park when we were nine years old, mailed my daughter a present. Our favorite kind of present. A book!  We immediately turned to the first page of Whoever You Are, thoughtfully written by Mem Fox and beautifully illustrated by Leslie Staub.  Countless times, my family read how hearts unify people all over the world. Joy and sorrow are universal emotions. The book is a keeper and the message is still one to spread... several years later! We still read the book.

What's your favorite children's book?