Blogroll Amnesty Day--Travels to Unknown Places

Any blogfule kno that February 3rd is Blogroll Amnesty Day , according to US blogger Jon Swift, 'a day when we salute all of the great smaller blogs that don't get the recognition they deserve'. Well, I didn't know, but I do now, and in the spirit of this new but rapidly burgeoning tradition, I shall share with you some of the lesser-spotted blogbirds I have discovered in my travels over the wide expanses of the internet. The ecology of the blogsphere is rich in inanity and profanity, but there is also humour and wisdom. Forinstance, there is Simon Key, the man who opened a bookshop (what could possibly go wrong?). I did an author visit to his small but bijou premises in Wood Green, London, and met Simon's partner in crime, Tim, plus a load of lovely and intelligent kids. Simon didn't blog about it, but I won't hold that against him because he's very very funny and he makes me laugh.

Then there's Candy Gourlay's Notes from the Slushpile about trying to get published in children's books. Again funny, informative, and a good reminder of the perils of writing life. As I am a writer, naturally I gravitate towards other author blogs--perhaps as a sort of desire to remind myself that I am not alone in this world of words. Two more that are worth visiting are lovely novelist Emma Darwin at This Itch Of Writing and the inestimable and wondrous hellgoddess herself, Robin McKinley whose daily posts on handbell ringing, roses, writing, hellhounds and the vagaries of weather are a joy and a pleasure. Last but not least, comes the Bookwitch who educates and entertains, and with whom I have many short but meaningful comment conversations.

So, lovely readers, please support BRA day, broaden your horizons and travel to places you might never otherwise have discovered. Above all, have fun.