Back Naked!

from Jacqueline

 Well, whaddaya know – we’re baaaaackkkkkk!

 Naked Authors: The Naked Truth About Literature and Life - that most famous (or infamous) of writers’ blogs – is up and running again!

 So, just in case you’re wondering, and even if you’re not, I’ll tell you what happened. In the spring of 2006, a bunch of writers (and we know that in America the collective of anything is a “bunch”) took to cyberspace with a blog and they really had a blast with it. Every dog had its day – mine was Friday - and we wrote our own naked truth about literature and life. But came the point when we decided that perhaps it was time for the party to be over. (Ohhhh noooooo) The faithful followers wept, we wept, the pretty balloons were burst, the high heels and tuxes put away for another day as we frightened the moon away and said goodbye to you, our faithful readers (OK, OK, I stole the essence of that bit from Doris Day).

Then, a funny thing happened. It was like one of those old movies, where the team gets together again because, heck, it was fun, wasn’t it? I loved those films – you’ve seen a few ...

 and ...

or even ...

A few weeks ago, Patty sent out an email to the Naked Authors team, informing us that the old blog would be up and running for another few years because, well, we still get a lot of traffic, new readers finding us and going through those posts of yesteryear. One thing led to another, one “Gee, I miss you guys” led to a “Y’know, we could always …” and then someone said, “Shall we?????” And before you knew it, Paul was saying, “Heck, I’m in” and I was saying, “Me too!” and Cornelia threw her Tods into the ring and Patty said, “WOW, LET’S JUST DO IT!!!!

 So, here we are again, the Naked Authors are back with The Naked Truth About Literature & Life. And here’s the weekly lineup, so commit these to memory. If you can’t, it’s repeated every week in the margin to your right:

Our Patty – Patricia Smiley – our dear leader (it has to be said)– Monday
Our Paul – the inimitable Paul Levine - Tuesday
Our Miss C – Cornelia Read, writer extraordinaire – Wednesday
Two Pinch hitters – James Born and Ridley Pearson – Thursday (though Thursday could be the mystery day when you never know who might turn up, or it could be a Naked Authors Day of Rest). And Me, “Our J” – Jacqueline Winspear - on Friday

 And just so you know, here’s how we’re playing it – we’re sticking to our days, but if we have too much on or there’s a deadline looming, or our fingers hurt, well, we’re going to take a break until the next week - so we think the best thing you can do is to sign up for alerts. We promise it will be worth inviting a lert into your life, because they are easy to care for and require minimal handling, though their long hair can find its way onto your dinner plate. In addition, in our previous incarnation Naked Authors was voted one of the best writers’ blogs on the internet – and I promise money did not change hands and no member of Naked Authors was seen holding a mover and shaker’s arm behind his or her back.

 We’re very excited about this – and you know why? We missed each other. We missed hanging out because we’d become like family. And you, our readers who checked in with us every day were family too. Sometimes it was like being around the table at dinner time – everybody wanted to get in on the conversation, voices were sometimes raised, and we laughed, cried, argued – and wasn’t it great? So great, we came back for another go.

 But there’s a serious part to our venture, and that is the importance of connection, of sharing thoughts, opinions and observations and knowing you have a voice – and with the Naked Authors blog, whether that voice was one of us or one of you, our readers commenting on something we’d written, the voices were heard and appreciated. We’d get the odd nutter coming up with out-of-order comments, but more than anything, it was great to chew the fat, linger over the coffee and know that there were people there who liked you, who respected you, and who – though they might not agree with you – would return for more the next day. We built a community with Naked Authors, and now we’re back – so join us once again, and let’s see where this journey takes us. I guarantee, if it was anything like Naked Authors Round One, it’ll be more than worth your time.

 That’s all from me this week. Check in again on Monday, because Our Patty has something to say, and if Patty is saying it, it will be worth you listening!