Official Recap for WIBIJ?! Game 2(presented by your game masters):

The Big Top was a little calmer at the beginning of our second official game. Even Jon’s acrobatics were in slow mo. The thing was, these were blogs that were chosen expressly because of our love for them and we wanted our crowd to love them up too. Even as Jon turned mid swing, waved, and then set out to spread glitter, H and I fussed with the canvas, picking up stray peanut shells and wondering what the days performance would bring. We had this down, we knew, but the game is only as good as the folks who come to play.

The beautiful Dena showed up right on time, the first sign that our race was going to be a success. She signed in and blasted past, before Heather could tip her top hat. If you recall Dena was our first ever racer, sending her kids to graze as she raced the wilds of our internet during the first race. This time our stunt master conducted the race with her children on her lap!! Dena had commented on four stops before Kris arrived beneath the canvas! Kris was steadfast, leaving her comments and returning to update us on her progress, and her words, bringing in Prof. McGonagall and squirrels, none too shabby. Then, there were sightings out in the field of a third mystery speed racer, eventually blowing us all out of the rings with comments and stealth. Laura wowed us with her game dexterity and her lisping(see below!!) retorts! Finally, even the lovely hosts of our clues showed up, with encouraging words, cheering racers on!

And then we knew, this race was a thing of beauty!!

Which brings us to the stops, oh we are proud of these hosts! These were the kind of blogs this game was designed for!! Each blog, beautiful and unique, these ladies have voice and presence, and know how to use it. Our theme this week: the blogs of picture book writers.


Off to stop one: Corey Schwartz Where rhymes and information, and self-deprecation all charm away, along with Thing 1 and Thing 2. Her post for the race was about being ditzy and commentors were out to validate, with stories of their own and reasons why that non-linear thinking will serve a writer. Love being shared by all.  (I am still 1000X ditzier than anyone, despite Corey's protests. -J)

Stop two: Marisa at Elegant snobbery. Beautiful illustrations galore and here we have music and all things spring, butterflies, rainbows, and fluffy kittens.  (There are even scary sock monkeys there! -J) The comments were epistilary and full of all sorts of fauna.

Stop three: Storygueen(Shelley) at Storycastle, which is a kingdom in of itself; everyone leaves Storycastle with a little more than when they came.  Give your internal editor a makeover and Shelley may claim him (or her) as her own, and you're a little proud she does it too. Everyone is inspired in the comments over there. Watch out, you may not want to leave.  (It's like magic! -J)

And then we get to Jacqui's room where Jacqui Robbins welcomes us to her circle. LeBron James and lies galore, but a writing lesson too. Check her out for Write This book Inspirational Moments. She is an inspiration herself. And the comments that follow, full of lies and fictions and even some truths.  (This chica is like my new favorite, which I can get away with because we live in the same state and she lives in my favorite city in said state.  GO BLUE!)

And surprise, at stop five, a familiar and oh so game friend: Dena Daw at My Journey to Becoming a Published Author. Dena was our first player. Way back last time, our first horn tooter, way back after last game, and she is a picture book author, not afraid to share her journey with us. Check her out. Bring her some socks! She will make you laugh and maybe even make you want to hold her son.  (Definitely will make you laugh. Not sure yet about holding the son. -J)

All race completers entered the correct phrase: A PICTURE BOOK IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.
Dena Daw
Kris Asselin
Laura Pauling
Kelly Polark
Even Heather's son! But technically he's disqualified because he didn't leave comments or sign in to play! Maybe he will next time. Dena crossed our finish line first, entering the phrase and then rushing off to feed her children. Only proves that that mother CAN do it all. Looking forward to all the books we will see from her some day! Two races down and she wins the speed round of both. I challenge you folks out there, give her a run for the award!!!

The glitter we found spread all around:

Kelly at Storyqueen:

-Can I borrow Harrison as my inner editor? Though I think I picture mine as me in teacher mode. And I need to be harder on myself!
When I was in fifth grade I wrote him a fan letter and received back a picture with his stamped signature. I was in love with Han Solo/Indiana! My biggest dilemma was which movie was my favorite: Empire Strikes Back or Raiders of the Lost Ark! Ahhh,such simple times...

Kris's comment at Elegant Bloggery:

-The sun is shining in my front window for the first time in days.  No kittens or bunnies around.  But a fat squirrel did run across the street a few minutes ago.  Does that count? Nothing like good tunes and a sunny day to make procrastinating feel like you've accomplished something.  Oh, and if it makes you feel better, I once cut 15K from my WIP (when it was only 20K). It's better now. ;)

But Laura's comments all over were stunning. The comments referred back to themslves, the lie at Jacqui's fueling the muse at Shelley's, and the game itself coming up at her comment on ditzery being written in her genes, but her one at Dena's was our favorite:

-Protest! Thou cannot winneth wheneth a bloggeth is onest of your ownest. :) Realleth, it's okayeth withith meith.

Awards Ceremony:

Laura's comment is the winner of our Best Comment Award, a coveted prize, one that is won with wit and well-wishes.  Laura's comment embodies both criteria to a tee!  Laura, feel free to snatch up this Best Comment Award, and do with it what you will!  You've earned it!

Dena is our first place winner.  Despite being unopposed for much of the race, she remained focused on beating the clock and her previous W.I.B.I.J.?! record set during out last game.  Steadfast and witty, Dena owned this race and I challenge someone to give her a run for the medal next time.  Unless you're too chicken.  Dena--soon you'll have enough first place awards to wallpaper your blog!

Race #2, Picture Book Blogs (Presented by Heather and Tina)

Welcome friends from far and near,

Thanks for coming; for being here.

First, some business, before we play,

Disqualification for all who stray!

Sign in at the comments down below,

New clues, every 10, after you go.

Leave Respectful words at each new place,

Stay On Blog Topic--or you're out of this race.

Collect Jon's clues from the comment pile,

Visible by their CAPITAL style.

Return again, comment that you're done,

Submit your phrase, maybe you've won!

There's not much more for you to know.

Welcome to the circus; away we go!

Today Jon visits blogs of Picture Book fame.

Sign in, get ready, and let's go with this game!


Jon's Phrase:__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Clue #1 @ 1:00

she gives Dr. Suess a run for his money,

with Thing 1 and Thing 2 and rhymes that are funny.

she Hops and she Plops and has cool blog digs,

with Elephant and Mouse and Three Ninja Pigs.

Clue #2 @ 1:10

always, she's Elegant, with Tootsie and Grace!

sock monkeys climb all over her place.

Illustration Fridays show off Bloggery style,

she calls her self Snob, but with a huge smile.

Clue #3 @ 1:20

welcome to the Storycastle, dear scribe,

or maybe you're a dashing Good Knight.

or Harrison Ford, the editing guide,

good morning, good noon, and Good Night!

Clue #4 @ 1:30

be on the look-out for the first bird of spring.

with Two of a Kind, of everything.

Writing Tips From Space Chicken, you can see,

hanging out in her Room, the New Girl...and Me.

Last Clue @ 1:40

some like to write, some like to Daw

Chasing the Alphabet is still a bit raw.

but Sally Circle's polish will never be marred.

since her fabulous author is Biting the Bullet Hard.

***Remember, check the Everything Else You Need to Know Page if you get stuck!***

Welcome to the Circus Tent and Award Podium, Race #1 (Presented by Tina and Heather)

We’re still spiffing up to get ready for the big show, don’t mind us, but we hope you’ll come on in and take a look around. Check out the rules for the game, our forms for submitting winning phrases and signing your blog up for future games, and our feedback form. Please look over our "EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW" page.

Next Wednesday, Heather, our Ring Master, will post the first clue at 1 p.m. eastern time (you can sign in 10 minutes early). Each subsequent clue will be posted in 10 minute increments. There are 5 clues in all. 


Come and play at the time of posting or come whenever you can during the next 24 hours. The game stays open for a whole day, and people can play at their leisure and try for that elusive Best Comment Award. If you play at posting time, you're more likely to win the coveted First Place Medal, for being the first to submit Jon's unscrambled phrase. We would love to hear your experience of how the game works both ways. After that winners will be determined and a recap will be published on Friday. Let the games begin!

In Ring Number One (or our race archives) you've got our first official race, and our three practice runs.

In Ring Number Two (which also can be found in our race archives) there are recaps and award ceremonies.

In Ring Number Three is the peanut gallery, and by the peanut gallery, we mean you. Make yourself known. Yes, we encourage comments from you! Heckle away. Without you, there would be no us.

So, how are you? You ready to play, Wednesday, March 24th at 1PM, Eastern time? (That's 10 AM on the West Coast :)) Give us a good heckle, let us know you're here!


But before you comment away, we have one order of business: The Award Podium from our last race! Our winners are here, to give their acceptance speeches!

WELCOME TO THE AWARD PODIUM!!

What a fantastic first WIBIJ race! Congrats to all of our players, and everyone who had honorable mention comments! But this stand is for winners only. You've got to be fleet of googling fingers and quick wit to win these awards.


Let me give a hand up to Dena. Dena, congrats on winning the First Place Award in our first game. Do you have anything you'd like to say?

(Dena): How awesome! Thanks for the award!

I'd like to start by thanking everyone who joined in W.I.B.I.J. and made it a great competition! I'd also like to thank the little people that call me mom for allowing me focus while they ran around aimlessly in the backyard for a good 40 minutes. Sincere thanks go out to Heather, Tina, and Jon for making all of this possible. Big thanks go out to Google. Without the help of Google I'd probably still be stuck on clue #1. I'd like to thank the blogosphere for all the wonderful websites I was able to discover, as well as my trusty old computer with it's three missing keys. I cannot even tell you how much this award means to me. I will hold it close to my heart and I will display it proudly on my blog. Truly, this is the proudest day of my virtual life.


Wow, Dena, great acceptance speech. Your award certainly looks spiffy on your blog! Everyone make sure to visit Dena's blog on the way out. But first, let me tap the mic and call for quiet. Here comes our winner of the Best Comment Award. Thanks for being here, Casey, from Literary Rambles. What would you like to say to the virtual crowd?


(Casey): Thank you to Tina, Heather, and Jon for inviting me to participate in the launch of W.I.B.I.J., which is brilliant if I do say so myself.

I'd also like to thank Google for offering a home for the Big Top and for my Google Reader which was already home to the featured blogs (that helped tremendously!).

I shall then thank the other participants who created a sparkly competitive edge, despite my late entrance.

And finally, a tear-filled moment of silence for my uncle, who helped win me the comment award. He passed away very unexpectedly just a few months ago. It was nice to remember his nerdy D&D and Iron Maiden days so fondly. I'm so glad you circus folk chose that comment.

Can't wait to see future games in motion. THANK YOU for the fun! : )

You're welcome, Casey! Thanks so much for playing! Everyone be sure to visit Casey's blog, Literary Rambles and leave her some love.


We had one more winner from our first race, a surprise award, for Best Comment at the Circus Tent, which was awarded to Paul, of Northwriter. Paul couldn't be here, today, so I'm going to read his poem. I think you'll agree that he sets the bar rather high!


(Paul's Poem):

I've figured out four of five

But can't play today

That's no Jive

I'm out the door

To soak in a Hot Spring.

But this looks like fun

Way better than Bling Bling!

Congrats in Advance

To all who have played.

If my schedule allowed

I sure would've stayed!

Everyone, give Paul a round of applause, and be sure to check out his blog on the way out of the Circus Tent.

And, if you want to win your own award, all you have to do is perform spectacularly at our next WIBIJ race, Wednesday, March 24th at 1 PM EST. The Circus Tent will be open ten minutes early for contestants to sign in. See you Wednesday!


Let the heckling begin (in the comment section)! What do you think about W.I.B.I.J.? Are you planning on playing? Can you imagine yourself at the Award Podium? What was your favorite part of the last game?

Official Recap of W.I.B.I.J.?! Game 1 (Presented by Tina and Heather)

Tuesday, March 9 1:00 pm, EST, the day we had been waiting for. All the canvas raising and the hay strewing had been for this moment. Blogger, the Elephant, had been fed, fake eyelashes applied. Google, the lion, had paced his cage the whole night. Now he was tied up out back. The Farmville steak seemed to have calmed him. Everybody was raring to go. In fact, Jon was already gone. He was out swinging from the fiber optics leaving comments as he went. That left Heather, Ringleader, and Tina, Master of ceremonies, back to welcome the players.

Dena arrived, raring to go. Checking in at the appointed hour and heading off, before we could get her to fork over for the peanuts, much to Blogger’s chagrin. At first we only had Dena. And by only, I hope you know that I mean, ONLY Dena, her enthusiasm, her bubbling joy could not be contained and it was the perfect place to start. We set about marking her progress, she had just landed at stop one when Mariah appeared on the scene, and proved to be speedy. She popped back to the big top to give full reports and compliment her opponent. The hour was underway and as will happen, the animals were enraptured by all the action and so did not misbehave.

The race was on!  Dena had landed at Stop One, Crowe’s Nest, where Lisa Schroeder guest posted about the birthday of her book,  IT'S RAINING CUPCAKES. It is a six full minutes before Mariah shows up.  A bit of time in a W.I.B.I.J race. Could Mariah catch up? At Stop Two, Pimp My Novel, a repost called “The Importance of Bad Reviews.” Mariah is quickly making up time, her intelligent comment is only 4 minutes behind Dena's thoughtful one. At Stop Three: “Author Friends: Meet Helen Walden”, The Rejectionist, a favorite here at WIBIJ, let's Helen have her say about Heavy Metal. Thier comments are one after the other, arriving at the same minute, Dena posts first and Mariah second. Even in the heat of the moment these bloggers are on topic and they do not scrimp! By Stop Four: Combreviations: “I am the Savior of Waterlogged Books,” Mariah is AHEAD by 9 minutes and this is where our racers truely shine. Mariah's comment mentions The Book Thief. Clearly the girl gets points for that and then Dena's comment made us Roll On The Floor Laughing. Finally they are on to the tricky stop: Stop Five: Nathan Bransford reminding us again, “Don’t Believe the E-book Skeptics." Jon's comment was hidden somewhere in the 80 comments below. And, SURPRISE, Dena is back in the lead!! At the big top, we were biting our nails, knowing that any minute now the racers will be returning. Who will arrive first.


And even after the timed sequence OUR GUESTS have amazed us with their comments:
Laura made us laugh with her honest comment:

Okay, Lisa. This totally cracked me up. Let me explain. The whole time I'm reading this, I'm thinking, "wow. Lisa Schroeder wrote a book about cupcakes too. Cupcakes must be getting popular." And then it turned out to be you!

Sounds adorable. Can't wait to read it.

And, Robert, with beautiful comment style, included a link:

I love the journey of "It's Raining Cupcakes" and three cheers for happiness! 

While driving from Massachusetts to Washington state in January, I went to a fantastic cupcake store in Nashville. The family that runs it believes in happiness. There's cool YouTube video of the smiley founder: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbGFhG55CjQ

Kelly, her usual cheerful and supportive blogger self tells Lisa Schroeder:

Congrats, Lisa! I've heard to write what you know and love; so glad to hear that was successful! The story sounds fun! Who doesn't love cupcakes?

Mariah and Dena raced back to the big top to be the first to correctly unscramble Jon's phrase:

A FEW CLOWNS SHORT OF A CIRCUS

Which is how we normally feel around WIBIJ.  But, not on that day.  No, we were struck by the respect and quick wit of all our contestants.  We want to thank you all for an amazing first race here at WIBIJ.  We were in awe that you all are all fleet of fingers and have such agile minds.  The comments around the blogosphere were inspiring.  And funny.  And they weren't just awesome out in the blogosphere, but here, at the circus tent as well.  Check this out, from Paul, of Northwriter:

I've figured out four of five

But can't play today

That's no Jive

I'm out the door

To soak in a Hot Spring.

But this looks like fun

Way better than Bling Bling!

Congrats in Advance

To all who have played.

If my schedule allowed

I sure would've stayed!

Paul, that rhyme was fantastic.   Maybe one race, we'll pass the torch to you, and you can write some awesome clues for WIBIJ!

Thanks again to all our participants!  And now, you're probably yelling, "Who gets the bling?  Who gets the bling?"

So, here's the bling:

AWARD CEREMONY

The First Place Winner of Game One of W.I.B.I.J.?! is...  Dena!  Dena, you were the first to correctly unscramble Jon's phrase.   Awesome job!  It was certainly a close race!  You are a googling pro!  Make sure to pick up your award, and hang it honorably on your blog, if you wish.  And, we can't wait to hear your acceptance speech in the comment section!

The Best Comment Award goes to Casey, for her wonderful comment about her D&D playing uncle, at the Rejectionist's blog:

Love that someone has outed heavy metal as being nerdy. Whenever I hear Iron Maiden I think of my D&D playing uncle and all his friends who used to pick the songs apart and argue over their meaning. So. Awesome.

Casey, thanks for all the great comments!  That one warmed our hearts!  Pick up your medal, and please leave an acceptance speech in the comments.

Dena, you earned an honorary mention for ROFL WIBIJ Comment, when you commented at Combreviations:

I accidentally dropped THE BIBLE in the crapper once, at church. Yes, so embarrassing. I was waiting for the lightening bolt in the stall for like 10 minutes.

That definitely ruined my day!

Nice work.  The Ringleaders had to compose themselves before moving on...

And, everyone, keep your seats.  We have a surprise award!  A Best Comment in the Circus Tent Award.  Which, Paul won, hands down, for his excellent rhyme.  Paul, you have a gift.  Please take your Best Comment Award, and we can't wait to see what you leave in the comments as an acceptance speech!  

Thank you all for participating, and being such wonderful sports!  We hope that you visit the blogs mentioned in the recap, and the hunt itself, and we hope to see you on March 23rd, at a time TBD, for the second   W.I.B.I.J.?!  race!  And feel free to grab a button from the Everything Else You Need To Know Page and spread the word! 

Welcome Friends! W.I.B.I.J.?! Race #1 (Presented by Heather)

Welcome friends from far and near,

Thanks for taking time; for being here.

First, some business, before we play,

Disqualification for all who stray!

Sign in at the comments down below,

New clues, every 10, after you go.

Leave Respectful words at each new place,

Stay On Blog Topic--or you're out of this race.

Collect Jon's clues from the comment pile,

Visible by their CAPITAL style.

Return again, comment that you're done,

Submit your phrase, maybe you've won!

There's not much more for you to know.

Welcome to the circus; away we go!

Today Jon is visiting business blogs, to and fro.

Agents, Editors, Publishers, in the know.

(Playing at business blogs is a bit less disruptive, you see.

Next time, we drive readership to your blog, masterfully.)

Clue #1 @ 1:00 EST

It's an informative place, that's for sure.

As far as the crow flies, or just a bit more,

All her authors, Sara invites to post.

Welcome to the nest, she's a wonderful host.

Clue #2 @ 1:10

Now that you've left your first comment--felt a part of the game,

Or maybe you didn't solve number one; still, feel no shame.

However, there might be shame at number two.

If pimping your novel isn't easy for you.

Clue #3 @ 1:20

It's not WIBIJ these days without visiting that scary sword wielding gal,

Describing a font dork moment, while channeling her Gollum pal.

I'm sure she won't reject a WIBIJ author-friend.

Especially since a gay werewolf fairy novel is exactly what you've penned.

Clue #4 @ 1:30

A spin-off of two is number four.

If math's not your thing than science may be a bore.

But, the science of romance novels, surely you jest.

Regardless, Laura, we think you are the best!

Clue #5 @ 1:40

The Amazing Race always has an equalizing flight

A long wait so others can catch up, put you in their sight.

Here is ours, so patience to skim Monday's post must be found.

Just remember, Nathan does it every day, with nary a sound.

*Now enter your unscrambled phrase over on the right, double check that you've left an on-topic comment at each game blog, sign out in comments below, leave feedback on the form on the right, and sign up your blog for a future game!

Phew! Feel free to stay as long as you want, and chat in the comments with other players (and the ringleaders), or use your W.I.B.I.J.?! adrenaline to get some words pumped out on your manuscript!

THIS GAME IS OPEN FOR A FULL 24 HOURS, DURING WHICH JON WILL BE LOOKING FOR THE BEST COMMENT OUT THERE!!

We'll see you Thursday for the recap, award ceremony, and medals! Do you think you won? Best get an acceptance speech ready!

****We try to always post on the most recent post, but occasionally, someone will post a new blog post during a game. It's always prudent to check a few posts.****

***There is no need to go in order. If you get stuck, try the next clue!!***