3 Ups Blog Hop!

I know, I know...."Come on, Mark, not another blog hop!!" Now, before you start burning me in effigy....or Cincinnati......or New Jersey.....or wherever else you're from, read below :)

While this is "technically" a blog hop, it's not your typical blog hop. Randi Lee, over at The Emotional Process of Writing a Novel (say that three times fast...I dare ya!), came up with this great idea to help 'community build' while giving everyone a chance to find some new and different blogs.

Here's how Randi put it:

"Over the next week or two (depending on how much interest I get) I’d like to generate a list of people who want to participate. Once this list is at a good number we’ll get started. The way it will work is like this: each blogger will pick the blogger listed below them, visit his or her site, read a post or two, and then tell them three things they like about the person or his or her blog. Easy enough, right?"

Yep...easy enough! Checking the list, today, I saw my 3 Up partner was M.J. Joachim. I've been following a couple of M.J.'s blogs, for a while now, so this won't be difficult at all. In fact, the most difficult thing will be limiting myself to saying only three nice things about her and her blog.

So, here goes...in true, old school, Nintendo video game fashion:

1 UP! Extremely Interesting Blog Achievement: Unlocked!

I've said this before, in other posts, but the whole reason I got into blogging in the first place was that I really enjoyed reading about people's lives. Why this is, I don't know, but I just find it very interesting to hear about the ups and downs people go through. For me, M.J.'s blog is one of the most interesting out there. Her topics always hook me in and I can always relate. Her writing style flows well and is very conversational...something that's always a plus with me.

2 UP! Passionate Soul Achievement: Unlocked!

Just read one of M.J.'s posts and you can see that she pours her soul into each and every one of them. It's this kind of passion for, not only writing, but living that's also a huge draw. Never preachy, but always thought provoking.

3 UP! Great Looking Blog Achievement: Unlocked!

This should be a given on any blog out there but, unfortunately, it's not always the case. M.J.'s blog, though, looks great. The background is crisp and clear, her text and background color don't clash (believe it or not, I've seen some very hard to read blogs out there) and her columns are well organized and not cluttered. Overall, it's just a nice site to navigate and that's something I always appreciate in a blog.

So what are you waiting for? Don't just take my word for it......go check out M.J. Joachim's place and see for yourself! You'll be glad you did, I promise :)

A big 'thank you' to Randi for hosting this little hop and, if you'd like to see the list of folks involved, check it out HERE.