Sigh… yeah, I been a baaad blogger. Because, duh… I haven’t been posting. Yes, oh blog-o-shphere, after all that work to create this site and fill it with what I hope is decent content, I lost steam. I let me self get caught up in — life. I had to take a hard look at what I want to do with my blog and a hard look at who I am as a writer and a web denizen citizen.

Because I let all the distractions…. distract me, I haven’t touched my WIP in a week and I haven’t posted here in a month..egads! And I’m sure there are lots of other bloggers who have suffered from the same great enthusiasm for the shiny new toy and then all the maintenance issues show up and it would be so much easier to just do something else.

But, as I have said many, many times before — I am a very lucky girl. I took the time to get in touch with Jenny Hansen, the blog maven over at More Cowbell blog. If you haven’t met Jenny, you are in for a treat. She is kind, generous, intelligent… and talks finds hidden humor in her spam folder and other places. But I told her that I was having a hard time really figuring out what to do with my blog. And she shared a couple of great strategies. One thing she told me, she thinks of a great blog is the on-line equivalent of a great party. You stop by, there are interesting tidbits, you meet some new people, life is good. I thought, heck, what’s not to love about that? I love throwing parties, I love showing people a good time, making sure they are taken care of and that they fell their time attending the party was worth it. That was my big worry about my blog, I don’t want to waste people’s time, and thought I had to write really in-depth, deep, meaningful work. But a digital party? Let’s bust out the sparkly lights and the margaritas.

Then I had the fabulous opportunity to meet Social Media Jedi, Kristen Lamb when I attended Thrillerfest in New York City.

From L to R: Ingrid Schaffenburg, Rachel Funk Heller, Kristen Lam, August McLaughlin

In between sessions, parties, radio interviews, more parties, brain storming sessions, and a few more parties — I finally had the chance to talk to Kristen about my blog. I originally took Kristen’s blogging class way back in October of last year, but we never got around to talking about my log line. I shared with her some of what I was interested in (the 100 word exercise) and she immediately came up with: Social Alchemy.

How perfect is that! It’s a great definition because I adore people I love meeting folks from all walks of life, I’ve been so lucky to have been able to meet so many great writers through the WANA class, and then to have the chance to meet them in person was such a delight. We truly are not alone, and we are creating bonds of friendship that grow richer with each blog post, comment, and “like.”

As for the Alchemy part, I have always been a seeker on the path to a deeper understanding of self-awareness. And there are a vast way to explore that which go far back in time — the Tarot, the I Ching, Astrology, Alchemy — these tools help us learn what we are about on a deeper psychological and spiritual level. That we are more than just the mundane, that we have the capacity to understand more than just the surface parts of life.  To that end, I’ve posted this entry on August 8, the day Mercury goes Direct. Read one of my favorite astrologers, Ralfee Finn to find out what that means.

Now if that is not reason enough to throw a party, I don’t know what is. So that’s my job, to be your Social Alchemist, to bring you the best and brightest from where I sit in the blog-o-sphere and to be humble and grateful that you all have decided to show up. On Mondays I’ll share with you those things that give me inspiration, those things in life that fill me with gratitude, because that always makes Mondays feel less burdensome. Wednesdays I’ll be bringing the best tips and ideas for all my fellow writer peeps, and Fridays will just be fun. I have a lot of creative pals out there who dredge up all sorts of things, so look out, Fridays at Social Alchemy will be a chance to take a break and smile. It will include the Mash-Ups-of-Love, my take on what’s worth reading and checking out, web-wise.

I’m so looking forward to a fresh start and bringing all of you along for the ride. I’ve changed my banner photo, because hey, let’s not limit ourselves to black and white, let’s live it in color! What do you think? Have you any tales of blog abandonment? What’s the toughest part about blogging? And what are your favorite blog blues remedies? I love hearing a from you, and please feel free to comment and share your thoughts.