Official Recap for WIBIJ?! Game 3 (Presented by Tina)

You'd think that your carnival hosts would be wizened and jaded by now, spitting snuff and cat calls at the passers by. No we are not, we are right proper with finger sandwiches and lemonade. Heather and I make a point to wear our best aprons to the tent and you will never catch us without lipstick. J heads off to spread glitter with a jolly wave. It is like a set for Leave it to Beaver around here, except with Lions named Google and Elephants called Blogger. But we are crafty beneath this homespun appearance, Heather made this run just a little harder.

The Race:
Dena arrives and pleasantries abound. Oh, yes we can see this race coming from a mile away. The beautiful Dena has done it before and she will do it again. She is the lady of the hour, both to her children and to us. She can pull out the big comments, typing with a baby in one hand and spare diaper in the other. But then out of nowhere  comes Jeff. Who is this stranger and does he dare challenge Dena? The crowd goes wild. Jeff announces a competitive streak and Dena says, "Bring it!" Fingers to the keyboard, they were googling!!!

The Stops...
Exhibited such synchronicity! First, when we chose these May debuting books, two of them featured wolves. Well, that seemed lucky. Little did we know, that that was only the beginning. Heather designs her race in relative blindness. Yes, these blogs know we are coming. They are prepared to put up a post and sit tight while our challengers cover the wires. But, morning of the race dawned with beautiful echos and reflections throughout.

At stop one: Christy Raedeke at Juvenescence had put out an all points bulletin for a monkey! (First wolves and now a monkey.) You may want to head over there to see why. Please let her know if you have a lead on a talented capuchin(or other ideas, i.e. squirrels in makeup and men in gorilla suits)! Christy's book Prophecy of Days - Book One: The Daykeeper's Grimoire comes out May 1st!

At stop two: Kristen Chandler at Kris Chandler Stories: the Blog the synchronicity continues with more animals. Her post is a tribute to Kit, a John Wayne strutting, beloved bad boy cat, may he rest in peace and a pleasure to read. Kris' book Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me comes out May 13th!

At stop three: Christine Johnson brings up the controversial (or all we all in agreement here, editors rock!) future of book publishing, specifically self-publishing. If you have an opinion (and I know you do) go and leave it! Her book Claire De Lune comes out May 18th!

Finally stop four: The Debut Authors Blog. What?? Is that Christine Johnson again?! And is she is being interviewed by our very own scavenger Jeff Baird?! The echos and revolutions continue. Go and check out the questions, they're not your usual fare. And the answers aren't bad either! (There are two versions of the blog, one just for blogger. Our comments ended up at both. For added challenge see if you can double comment! May the synchronicity never end.)

Missing!
Our heckling section! One donkey-riding (and the TURBO donkey his/herself), tutu-wearing, vacationing (let's hope not in the hospital because that's where she was headed in her last joking comment was seen in these here parts) Ann Marie! Racers beware, I believe she is prepared to heckle the next time! (All are welcome to join, as long as it is in respectable, Leave it to Beaver type fun).

Our phrase: April previews bring May debuts!!!

Award Ceremony (presented by Jon)
1st Place:

Dena had a fierce competitor in Jeff. He was speedy! And had the distinct advantage of knowing the last blog (and then there was that surprise(!) overlap between the last two blogs). The two dueled around the blogosphere until even Harry Potter caught wiff of Dena and Jeff's battle. But in the end, it was Dena's defense of the Dark Arts, oh, no, I mean in the end it was Dena's defense of her reigning title as the W.I.B.I.J.?! queen that brought down the house in her favor.

Best Comment:

My two favorite comments were left by Jeff.  At Kris Chandler's blog he said, "Reminds me of my old cat, Zeno. She killed a Doberman once…. Violence came back to haunt her though when her days were ended by a rapid possum " (Wow, she killed a Doberman, but stood no chance against a possum?  I am amazed.) 

and 

at Christy' Raedeke's blog Juvenescence he said, "I will read your book solely based on monkeys... I mean we share a common ancestor and all. If it helps, I know a guy with a gorilla suit and I bet he would do origami in it for less than 800 dollars. Just sayin..." (Can you imagine trying to make a tiny crane with those sausage fingers?)

Jeff is the winner of Best Comment! (and thanks for giving Dena a serious run for her money!) Jeff make sure to pick up your award, and do with it what you will!  

And a huge shout out for being so darn faithful and beloved goes to both the lovely Kelly Polark and her magnificent and smiling presence (we loved your turn of WIBIJ's turn of phrase!) and the powerful scavenger with google in her back pocket, Dena Daw. We would like to thank Kelly and Dena for being so supportive of W.I.B.I.J.?!  No matter their schedule or how many children are running around screaming, they have been here for us. We truly appreciate it you two!  I love Dena to death, but I'd love to see someone take her down!!  Just kidding.  Not.