IWSG & Friends in the Blogosphere & Jo

 The Insecure Writer's Support Group is the brainchild of Alex J. Cavanaugh. He, his clones, minions, friends, and fellow authors make it an amazing event every month.

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! 

February 3 question - Blogging is often more than just sharing stories. It’s often the start of special friendships and relationships. Have you made any friends through the blogosphere?

A resounding YES to this question!

When I first thought about writing a book, I stumbled onto a site called Agent Query with the forums Agent Query Connect. There I met my first 2 amazing critique partners & found out that Real People published books.

Obviously I knew nothing about the industry.

These crit buddies had blogs and I jumped into the blogosphere about ten (or more??) years ago.

I'm still buddies with many of these people (Hi, Alex!). People I consider friends and not only internet acquaintances.

I'm not going to list people because there are so many!

As an introvert who finds meeting new people stressful, it's interesting that I feel I could meet at least 30 blogging friends and not have that awkward initial interaction. 

Unfortunately my bloggy friends are spread all over the world (Canada, US, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, England, Singapore...) (with a few close enough to meet one day!) so I doubt most of us will ever meet up in the real world, but I'd love to have everyone over for supper. Who's in for lasagna?

How about you? Do you have bloggers you consider friends? What would you be serving if they (we?) popped over for supper?

***

In Honor of Jo Wake
On February 3, share a recipe that brings them warm memories of friendship and love in honor of blogger Josephine “Jo” Wake at Jo on Food, Life, and a Scent of Chocolate. who passed away December 16, 2020

I didn't know Jo well, but we crossed paths through Sue's blog at Elephant's Child. Jo found out about my book Dancing With Dementia through Sue's post. Jo went on to read the book and post a review on her blog.

Jo and I chatted through email a few times as well and her love of life and joy in cooking were obvious. She will be missed.

If I actually followed a recipe for the lasagna I mentioned above, I'd include that but I tend to change it up & have no idea what the original recipe was!

I feel like Jo would appreciate this recipe too. It's a super simple one that ends up with delicious muffin-sized brownies. No icing required!

In a small pot, melt a cup of butter. Add in a cup of dark chocolate chips until they're melted.

In a mixing bowl, mix 1-1/2 cups of white sugar with 4 eggs. Add in a cup of flour and mix.

Add in the melted chocolate mixture and mix well. Throw in a handful of mini chocolate chips if you like.

Pour into muffin cups (I use the paper liners for easier clean up). Makes 16.

Bake for 35 minutes at 335.

That's it. Easy peasy and delicious. I'm sure Jo would approve!