It's time for cyclones in Queensland, the A - Z Challenge...and...Write...Edit...Publish challenge!

It's April!

Not the time I should be sitting out the tail end of a cyclone (hurricane, typhoon, whatever name you call it). They used to hit in Queensland at Christmas, but now with the changing climate and our summers dragging on for six hot months instead of three, they can hit for a much longer time. So I'm listening to rain and wind and watching things flap around. The schools are closed, the shops closed at midday and some towns have been evacuated. The worst is supposed to be over by midnight tonight, so only 9 hours to go, LOL. Much of the Queensland coast has been damaged badly, but as always, we're resilient--have to be. The clean up has already begun north of me in the hardest-hit areas and the good news is that as far as is known, nobody has been seriously hurt. (UPDATE: one woman has drowned...)

Time for a different kind of fast and furious if you're doing the A-Z...planning themes, planning posts, posting posts and the furious round of commenting.

All a bit much for me, I'm afraid. But I applaud you for your diligence and I know you just love it! I participated in the early days, but now I spend April working on my writing projects. I've put up a whiteboard in my writing room to keep track.

Many of you who participate in Write...Edit...Publish (WEP) flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry, photography challenges are also doing the A - Z and this year have asked specifically to do a "P" post on April 19, "P" day for the A - Z. So we've listened.

In my sidebar you'll see today is the day to sign up for the WEP challenge, whether or not you're in the A - Z. April is also Poetry Month, so we've chosen a poem called PEACE and LOVE for our inspiration, paying particular attention to the lines: "Despair and hope may meet within one heart."

And we offer a $10 Amazon gift card to the entry that catches our eye:

I know most of you will have your A - Z posts pre-scheduled, but if you can find a way to link it to the WEP, go right ahead. If you'd like me to visit you during the month, in the comments tell me your theme and I'll do my best to pop over.

Thank you for coming by.

I wish you a fruitful April--meet and follow new bloggers, learn stuff, but don't exhaust yourself too much.

Another exciting happening is the We are the World blogfest where bloggers are taking over social media with positive posts. I found a sign up list HERE at Writer in Transit, Michelle's blog. Her first post is HERE.