My buddy Patrick Ross does an awesome weekly round-up on Fridays called Creative Tweets of the Week.  He always finds interesting tidbits and articles to post, so I'm copying him inspired by him to create a Writer's Round-up Friday.  Mine is not going to be a weekly feature.  Rather it will appear when I've got interesting links to share.

So, here we go.

1. I was featured in an interview about my writing coaching on Cheryl Reif Writes.  I tweeted the interview like crazy, but I woke up one morning and duh, realized I'd never blogged about it.  Blame it on my grandson, Henry, who is a huge distraction.  (I'm currently blaming everything I forget on him.  Since he's only two months old and the most beautiful baby ever born, there's no harm done.  On the other hand, there's a chance I may be scarring his delicate young psyche for life. Or that all this forgetting means I have Alzheimer's.)  Anyway, I really enjoyed the interview, because I don't often get to talk about my coaching.  So, thanks, Cheryl.

2. I was also featured on Writing While the Rice Boils.  More to the point, my free Ebook, Jump Start Your Book with a Vision Board, was featured. Debbie Maxwell Allen did a great job of talking about and talking up the book.  Thanks, Debbie!

3.  I was talked up royally by Sandra Pawula on Always Well Within.  Sandra was the winner of the week three Christmas giveaway, and she got free entry to the Make Money Writing class.  It has been so wonderful having her be part of it.  And she's got an amazing blog on self development that I love, so go check it out.

4.  My dear friend and colleague, Terry Price, is making the plunge to free-lance writing.  Yesterday was the day he unveiled his website. He also does coaching, so check him out.  Terr and I co-directed the Writer's Loft together, and as you'll see from his site, we've got a retreat cooking up for you guys also.

5. Before Christmas, I posted here about a comedy writing contest.  Specifically a contest sponsored by the Alliance for Family Entertainment.   Two lovely young women, Kristin and Christine, contacted me with info about the winner.  (I know, I know, I'm a bit slow at posting the info, sorry, guys.) This is actually cool because it confirms that the contest is bonafide, which is always a concern.  (Note to Kristin and Christine: it also make me more likely to post your next contest.  Do you have one for novels?  Because I have a humorous novel I'd like to sell.  Oh, but its probably not family friendly.  Never mind.) So, here is the information on the lucky hard-working winner:

Megan Angelo, a journalist and aspiring screenwriter, took home the winning prize of $5,000 plus the opportunity to be mentored by TV icon John Wells for her script, O’Connell for Congress.

O’Connell for Congress features Tim O’Connell, a self-described “high school screw up" turned failed businessman. Still, he has a party emporium millionaire wife, two rambunctious teenage sons, a child detective daughter and a new plan: to run for public office. But when Tim attracts the sudden interest of some powerful political strategists with their own motives, the O’Connell family is thrown into a world that they are not prepared to handle.

Angelo honed her skill by writing stories for publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Glamour, Business Insider, Philadelphia Magazine and BRIDES. Megan has been writing scripts for several years, entering contests regularly looking for her first break.

(You can learn more about winner Megan in the New York Times article about the contest.  She's, um, 27.)

 6. This is not about something that has happened, but rather something that is going to happen. Specifically, a Valentine's Day contest starting here, on this very blog, next week.  I'm inspired by the success of my Christmas giveways, and I've got my thinking cap on to figure out what wonderful writerly gift I'm giving away this time.  So come back next week, y'all and find out what I decided.

It occurs to me, rather embarrasingly, most of these links feature me.  Oops.  Sorry.  Next time I'll be more democratic, but I just wanted to give everyone who featured me some love.  So, thanks, guys!

Since this is a round-up of the week post, what's been going on with you?  How's life treating you?  How's your writing going? I'd love to hear about it.  Just leave your thoughts in the comments section.