Ahoy, my hearties! All right, all right, I'm channeling my inner pirate not my inner Bandita, but I hope the photos make up for the wooden leg and the parrot and the bad teeth. Bandits need good teeth so they can flash a sexy grin beneath the black mask!The Bandits are going on tour for the next two weeks (and thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we'll be holding the fort here too so you get double Bandit blast for your money!).
The fine crew who steer the good ship Romance Novel TV have invited us to invade from Monday, 21st January, to Friday, 1st February. Avast, ye landlubbers! So from Mondays to Fridays over that fabulous fortnight, two Banditas will take charge of the blog over there and bring the mayhem that rules our blog to a new audience.
We're hoping our friends and honorary Banditas will take ship with us, rowing over in dinghies or, if really desperate, swimming. We'll save you from the sharks and crocodiles!The party kicks off on Monday with the fabulous Caren Crane challenging me to a haiku duel. You don't have to comment in haikus. As you know, we love anybody who will talk back to us however they want to do it!
But if you do display your poetic skills, you may win fabulous Bandita Booty (some things don't change, even if we are playing away). Our favorite haiku wins a signed copy of Untouched and a $15 voucher from Amazon.
Worth stretching yourself to writing a poem of five syllables, seven syllables and five syllables, methinks!
After that there will be two Bandits a day on duty to keep the party going. Please come over and play. We promise cold cyber champagne, hot cyber men, prizes galore and lots of laughs. Hey, bet that's the best offer you've had post-New Year's Eve!
So as we're about to enter new fields and conquer new territory and beat any cliches we find into a pulp, I thought I'd ask a perennial question of all you experts on Internet interaction. What do you look for in a blog? What appeals to you? What doesn't? What brings you back to a blog day after day or even on a semi-regular basis?And don't forget to come and say hello on Romance Novel TV from Monday!
23 comments:
Did I Did I
Have Fun
Helen
Yay, Helen!!!! You're clearly a Bandit at heart to steal the GR back from Fedora! Congratulations.
I am going to be over there Anna this is going to be a fun few weeks you Gals are the best.
I love coming back to blogs for all the fun and interesting stuff that people talk about and the things I learn.
My TBR pile just keeps growing from all the blogs I go to although there are only a few that I visit everyday sometimes a few times a day and the Romance Bandits is the one I visit most.
Visiting and posting on blogs also gives me confidence posting on blogs was something that I took a long time to do although I used to hang around them and read them it took me a while before I would post anything.
Thanks everyone
Have Fun
Helen
Anna
Just got in from my grandson's 2nd birthday party and thought I would check now I need a rest.
Have Fun
Helen
Anna it's so good to see you're still using your pirate lessons from being aboard the ship!
There's nothing like the bandits taking over the blog world! Have a great time over at RNTV. I'll check over there to see what kind of fun stuff you gals are doing!
Oh, I can't wait for the Bandita invasion. I'm a regular over at RNTV, and we are really looking forward to Monday!
Counting the Bandits, I post on about 4 different blogs! Wow, it's a wonder I get any work, or reading done! :)
Sin, you're right! It's me channeling the Yo Hos! For anyone who doesn't know, Sin and a few of her buddies run a great blog called Yo Ho, A Writer's Life for Me - http://yohowriterslifeforme.blogspot.com/
I had a great day over there pretending I was Long John Silver and making any unsuspecting visitors walk the plank! Aaaaarrrrrr!
Gannon, I think we must have similar taste in blogs because I run into you all over the place. Helen, so glad you worked up courage to comment. You're one of the pillars of the banditas!
You did! You did! Congrats, Helen.
Great promo post, Anna. I'm sooo excited about our invasion on RNTV. I hope ya'll will join us. We're wired for the trip, pumped for the battle, and psyched about the invasion. Yikes, all those battle images!
I'd better brush up on my haiku skills.
Blogs, I like those which are clean, clear and UNCLUTTERED!!! I hate spending my valuable reading time skirting around the site looking for the good stuff!
Woohoo, Helen! Gee, these banditaritas are getting good, aren't they?
Hi Gannon! Fancy seeing you here, m'dear!
Anna, what a great ad for our raid. As for what I look for in a blog, I think it's a certain way the blogger has of looking at the world that really attracts me. And if they have a ton of personality too, even better! I like to learn something new and if I can laugh at the same time, that's perfect.
Congrats, Helen! (And hope you and everyone had a great time celebrating with your grandson--too exciting ;))
I'll try to pop by when you head over to RNTV--sounds like fun!
I agree with Helen--visiting blogs (especially Bandits and a couple others) is definitely growing the TBR! And with all the fun I'm having reading and occasionally posting, when am I going to have time to actually read books?! :)
I enjoy the blogs with fun, inspiring, or other topics that "click" with me, and I love ones where there's interaction with the blog's community. Bandits is tops at this!
And uh, haiku?
Help, oh help, I can't do it...
Poetry is hard!
Aack! Better get the thinking cap on ;)
Fedora, you get the Haiku Rooster even if the GR has moved on to Aussie pastures! ;-)
Foanna asks, "What do you look for in a blog? What appeals to you? What doesn't? What brings you back to a blog day after day or even on a semi-regular basis?"
The short answer: You Banditas
The longer answer: The cameraderie amongst all the posters who comment regularly on each other's posts, makes The Lair a place of warm welcome. In additions to your wide range of posts, you have fun guests, and you all are witty and irreverant. Love it here.
Looking forward to joining the Banditas over at RNTV.
Helen, dear, congratulations! We know he's in good hands! :) And if you've been to a two-year olds' party, you deserve a rest.
And I'm so glad you do post! I enjoy reading your comments.
Blogs need to be clear about why they exist, and then deliver on their promise to a reader. A blog doesn't have to post every day, but needs to let the reader know inconsistency is part of the package. (Blush-that would be mine!) Bloggers need to reply to their visitors.
The Banditas "work" in spades because of all the positive energy here, I think. The camaraderie and respect posters and visitors demonstrate make this such a necessary place to be. It's like dropping in at your favorite diner (I'm a small-town midwest gal, feel free to insert "coffeehouse", etc.) to grab a cup of tea, check in with old friends, and often make a new one.
And of course there's the magical lure of the rooster...:)
Yay!! We are so looking forward to the Bandita Invasion over at RNTV!! We're going to have a blast!!
Hugs!
Andrea
Congratulations on the GR! I've given up trying to get him to Texas. No matter how late I stay up or how early I look everyone beats me...(pouty lip here).
We're looking forward to invading RNTV. Our bucket boots have been scrubbed, our rapiers sharpened and the cabanan boy/Romans well oiled....:)
For me a blog definitely has to be a fun place to be. The Banditas, The Goddess Blogs and the now defunct Squawk Radio are amoung my favorites.
Keira and Gillian, I agree, it was the camaraderie is what drew me and kept me here. That was the first word that came to my mind. I am very new to the blog scene. The Goddess Blogs was mentioned and that was my first with the Romance Bandits a very close second. I just kind of wandered in and stayed :-)
And we're so glad to have y'all!
I was raised in the North, but my roots are in the South...and as the saying goes here, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could."
Anyways, (a truely Midwestern usage of the word), we love it when you, as my Grandmother from Tennessee would say, "pull up a chair and sit a spell!"
I think that's what I like about our blog and the ones I frequent upon occasion. Friendly chatter and some posts that make me think, both as a writer and a person.
Hey, thanks, everyone, for those lovely words about Banditas. I love that it's like a bunch of girlfriends getting together for a really giggly lunch. Kim, I miss Squawk too. You really felt these women were friends sharing the fun, not just drawn together because it was a marketing opportunity.
I probably won't be able to visit - I'm on dialup and things are as slow as molasses - but have fun!
And I agree - what brings me back is the camaraderie. You answer us back and that means a lot. I've been on blogs that no one ever comments on anything and I eventually stop going.
Well, Catslady, I just had to answer you after that, didn't I? ;-) Thanks for saying that - sorry you won't be able to make it to RNTV. We're there for the next two weeks so if you find yourself available, do call in.
First off, I'll pass on the "hot cyber-men." Thanks.
What do I look for in a blog? Two things. First, intelligent and well written blog entries. But, without the monotony of a single point of view. One of the things that makes you Banditas kind of neat is how many different posters you guys have, and how varied the blogging subjects can be. You guys post on everything from writing hurdles to goofy stuff that happens in your day-to-day life. I never know what to expect when I load up the page. That makes it kind of fun.
Secondly, a regular core of bright folks commenting on the various blogs adds enormous value. More than half the time, the comments are as enjoyable to read as the original blog post. You guys have some sharp cookies both within your group, and as regulars in the comments section.
And this is coming from a guy who a: doesn't read romance, and b: normally visits much more politically charged areas of the internet. This place is an interesting common ground. Propagation of the species is a common denominator anywhere. Romance is simply a high form of this universal common ground. Just ask any cold-war era US flag officer if he'd completely forget politics for an hour with that beautiful Russian major. Would he admit it? That's another matter. But romance in all its forms is certainly middle-ground where anyone can meet, assuming chemistry's there. But I digress, because, I'm not here for romance in any form.
In summary, your blog entries and your comments, (really, the comments matter) keep me coming back.
Oh! Something else very important. Wit! You guys are good for a chuckle every single day. That alone's worth it.
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