Blowing my Trumpet - 10 things I like about me

We need to credit ourselves more and know that we are full of "good stuff". So says Aloted of Purpose Driven Blog who thinks most of us rarely blow our trumpet due to social conditioning. I agree with her, and when she listed her own positive 10 things and threw open the floor, I decided to get on it. Watch out, cos I'll be tagging...

1. I can be very playful, and I like giving free reign to the child within me. It makes me feel very carefree, like going on the swings in a playground. I used to be a tomboy too, so don't be surprised if you see me climbing a tree. Thank God I'm still athletic enough to pull that off.

2. I find it very easy to say I'm sorry and mean it. Growing up I was very stubborn but with age, luckily, came some self awareness and maturity.

3. I don't take myself or things too seriously, I have learnt to let go and let God in most cases. If you insult me, I can even laugh. I might vex for a few minutes and then I brush it off my shoulders. Life is too short, abeg.

Faithfulness in Relationships - How possible?

Update: One of the comments raises an interesting angle. Should one partner's faithfulness be dependent on the actions/inactions of the other?

"Faithfulness isn't a trait you can sit back and expect your partner to just have. e.g. If I want to be the only one my partner has intimate conversations with, I need to let her know that. My role would be to always be available to her for that. If she goes off and has intimate conversations with someone else, i'd say she has been unfaithful. If I didnt make myself readily available, I can't totally blame her." - Think-about-it
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We've read about how Dunni was broken-hearted by her former boyfriend's infidelity. In fact, she caught him with another woman almost pants down after they'd been dating for two years. In his defense, he said he wasn't the monogamous type of guy and asked her to understand. So the question is, how possible is it for people to remain faithful to one person in a long-term relationship?

Some more pictures from Las Vegas

So, I was going through my Blackberry the other day and discovered so many pictures I had almost forgotten. During our road trip in the summer, my camera battery went off a few times and my BB had to do backup. Because I had like a gazillion pictures on the camera, I forgot these ones. They're not the best quality, and it seems I'm yet to figure out how to save the flipped ones, but hey...enjoy!

Arriving at our hotel

FAQs - Self-Publishing and Book Publicity

Hey Myne,

I know someone who is self-publishing a novel and I was wondering if you have any advice for her? I would classify her book as "teen fluff", and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Its not the same demographic as your work, but I thought it might be helpful to hear from you since you have had such success with your work.

Ideas, tips, concerns? Would you like a copy of the book to read over and offer suggestions? She is all ears.I told her I would reach out to you to see if you would be able to talk with/to her.

Thanks!

Loving what you do - RIP Steve Jobs

"I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did." - Steve Jobs 

I saw that quote soon after I found out that the Apple co-founder and former CEO was dead. Atala was the one that gave me the news, and also showed me the quote on Stack Overflow, one of his favorite websites. We did the rest of the rounds together, Slashdot, Mashable, Huffington Post, they were all reporting on his death. I was also all over the news on TV. Another quote caught my eye on Politico.com sending me on a search for Jobs 2005 commencement speech at Stanford, and I was really touched. He was just 56. May his soul rest in peace.

I'm always inspired by people who follow their dream, and who pursue it, and make a good example of it. Steve Jobs is one of those people. I'm not a big fan of Apple products, and I only used Mac in the school library. I had an ipod once but I gave it away when I got a phone that was an mp3 player. The biggest way that Steve Jobs touched my life was through his animation company Pixar, and the movies they created.

Do men actually resent women who earn more money?

So yesterday on my WIP, we read about Dunni being an intelligent, high earning women. In her experience, men resent such women, and next week, you'll be reading further details.
There have also been recent commentary in the media on this topic. Patti Stanger, the Millionaire Matchmaker was reported on the Huffington Post as saying;

"[Men] like [smart women] after marriage. They don't like them before they are married. You got to dumb it down a little because men are not that bright."

Amara, a Nigerian columnist for PM News wrote in an article titled "Reasons you're not married";

Another reason is that with your good job and salary, they [men] are even afraid to come near you as they wouldn’t want to be turned down.

On-camera audience: Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss Edition

Some weeks ago, I got an email invitation from on-camera audiences to be at the Tacoma filming of a local resident's big reveal for Extreme Makeover - Weight Loss Edition, and I clicked delete. If you remember, I had enjoyed being part of the Seattle X-Factor taping which was like a concert, with the added sugar of seeing Simon Cowell and his gang. But though we had followed the first season of this new ABC show and liked the idea and the presenter, Tacoma was over an hour away from us, and I thought the drive would be too much hassle. A week later, another email came saying The Harlem Globetrotters would be playing a live game for the audience. I was like, really!?

Celebrating Independence - 419 Reasons to like Nigeria

October 1st is the independence day of Nigeria, and it's been 51 years since the country got independence from Britain. While we have nothing much to celebrate, today, I'm joining hundreds of other bloggers and social media users on a positive campaign for Nigeria, facilitated by ‘The 419Positive Project’.. 

For too long, Nigeria and Nigerians have been readily associated with the online scams, financial crime and impersonation - termed ‘419’. However, beyond the unfortunate stereotyping, there are several positive characteristics and cogent intriguing traits of the country Nigeria, and its people. Some of these are highlighted below as part of the ‘419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ campaign which enlisted 100 volunteers and bloggers to share reasons why they like Nigeria. These reasons echo the voices of Nigerians, with resonating similar themes.

The full list of ‘419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ is available www.419positive.org  

The list of contributors to ‘419 Reasons to Like Nigeria’ is available here

If you would like to say something positive about Nigerians and Nigeria, please do so here.

Blog awards still make my heart smile

Yes, they do. In 2 years of blogging, I've gotten my fair share of awards. Still, each time someone thinks me worthy, it's new all over again. Melanie of Feather Pens, Tartan Dreams said; "this is my first visit to Myne’s blog. And I was impressed. A beautiful lady with lots to say. I subscribed immediately."
Thank you Melanie for joining my site and for the Versatile Blogger Award. I hope I have the chance to keep sharing my different facets with my readers.

Rules:
- Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
- Share 7 things about yourself.
- Pass this Award along to 15 recently discovered blogs and let them know about it!

Stand a chance to win A Heart to Mend from RWOWA

Romance Writers of West Africa (RWOWA) is a group dedicated to the growth of African romantic fiction worldwide and I am one of the founding members, YAY! We have set up our website, and will be rewarding our subscribers each month with a book from the published members. For October, the group will be giving away a free copy of my bestselling debut novel, “A Heart to Mend.*

How to enter:
- Subscribe to RWOWA. The email form is on the right lower corner of the website.**

- Follow @RWOWA on twitter

- Like the RWOWA page on Facebook.