okay!

here’s the info for the musical blog hop (for feb. 14, valentine’s
day). there are some notes (1-10) in beginning, but actual text for
your post begins where it says: INFO BEGINS, if that makes it easier
to spot right away.

(by the way, your post for vintage valentines was so adorable, one of
cutest posts ever. as long as sharing info, might as well throw that
in there because, aaaaagh, so adorable, such nice quotes, perfect
vintage valentine picks, colors, set-up, everything thumbs up. care
and concern with craftsmanship makes me really happy. always
appreciate something beautiful, when it’s obvious someone took care to
do something well. just feel like applauding, you know? well done.
love art, as well, so was totally interesting to browse all vintage
valentines, you found some cool ones!)

oh, uhm, oh…busy rambling. aha, back to music hop!

so. you’d just cut and paste into post.

it might look really complicated in text format, but it’ll all settle
nicely into place, no worries.

some notes that might be helpful:

1- here’s what the winterlong music hop looked like, to see a live version:

(actual music hop, first stop)
http://tinyurl.com/23oqcv9

(in context, tour schedule)
http://tinyurl.com/2ezpmyp

2 – please keep an eye on the blog post coming up right after yours.
you see where it says something like:

Check out music stop #1 of 7: Take me there (http://tinyurl.com/nzkf5y)

on your post? the link next to it just goes to home page of next
blogger. so, when you see their post go live, please just go back and
update that link with fresh link to DIRECT hop post. this way, if
everyone just links to blogger right after them, will automatically
close the circuit.

3 – the candy hearts are part of a cute tour game going on throughout
the tour, that’s why there’s a candy heart for each tour stop, because
people are actually collecting them.

to see the tour game and why everyone’s including a candy heart, can
see the tour game info here:

http://tinyurl.com/4tdxqck

so, of course, would like to give people as many chances as possible
to collect their hearts! (it benefits you, also, because part of
playing the tour game is to collect the heart, then note which blog it
was found on, with link to your blog and so on).

there’s a candy heart gallery, but a lot of them have been posted,
trying to not duplicate the same design too many times, because that
might be confusing for people. so, tried to narrow down choices but
leave it up to you which one to pick. this way, we have nearly all the
hearts without too much duplication, and will be fun to see them al
cute and collected, also.

4 – there are three header images to pick from, all same design, just
slightly different. lg if you have space, med if you’d like smaller
image, frameless for white backgrounds (the image blends in with the
page) – although of course you can also pick out frameless if you want
that one, instead, please feel free.

5 – there’s a link for a lot of text, it might look really wild, but
basically simple – nine times out of 10, the link just belongs with
the text just before it.
so you’d just put the link into the text you see right before it.

example:

Check out music stop #1 of 7: Take me there (http://tinyurl.com/nzkf5y)

so, the final on your post would just look like this:

Check out music stop #1 of 7: Take me there

except that the ‘take me there’ would now be linked text.

6 – brackets are to share info, it most likely will be either a link
or some notation. please just read what’s contained in brackets to see
what the
info is and how you can utilize it, can discard once finalized.

examples:

- Check out music stop #1 of 7: Take me there (http://tinyurl.com/nzkf5y)

(this is link info to match the text ‘take me there,’ so that when
people visit your post, they can click on ‘take me there’ to visit
next stop.)

- (image – music hop) http://tinyurl.com/4qdpcjd (Lg) or
http://tinyurl.com/467w75j (Med) or http://tinyurl.com/4k32d8m (No
frame)

(this tells you that the link or links coming up are all images, that
they are for the music hop. the additional brackets just let you
preview which link is for which version of the header, so you don’t
have to sit there opening three links and wasting time comparing, the
info is just there for you to pick from, in deciding which might work
best in your post.)

- (image – candy heart) (http://tinyurl.com/4mkjoql green daisies)

(this just tells you link coming up is an image, it’s a candy heart,
the link is the actual image and the text tells you what it looks like
or what it is.)

there’s at least one exception, it’s this bit:

(If you enjoy a particular music pick, please consider buying the
track to help support the person or group that created it for
everyone’s enjoyment.)

this part is bracketed, but it’s actually meant to look like that on
final post, it’s for readers visiting your blog hop post. it’s just a
courtesy to acknowledge that music artists have made this nice music
and if someone happens to really like a song they hear on your blog
stop, to please consider buying that track to support the music
artist, that way that artist – if applicable – can make more music in
the future.

this part is sort of like the small print – it’s important, but maybe
not as glamorous as, ‘look, a video!,’ but do think it’s still
important and should be somewhere, even if in smaller font or
something, as long as it’s there will feel like music artists being
acknowledged and thanked for their work in making music. and, yes, of
course, if a reader happens to spot a song and really likes it and
decides to check out that artist or song, that’s quite nice, too!

7 – the tour schedule included so that people can visit other tour
stops on the tour. the default link is the main tour schedule at the
coven, but please feel free to swap out for your own post of the tour
schedule, if you like. it doesn’t matter which tour schedule is used
(main or your own), only want to provide people with option to look at
list of all blogs and browse to see if there’s something they might
like.

the benefit of using the coven tour schedule is that all tour stops
are archived, so people can click on something that looks interesting
and be taken to that tour stop directly, which is very convenient and
they won’t have to search around.

the benefit of using your own tour schedule is that people won’t have
to go out to a different site, but can get a basic idea which features
are available on the tour schedule, and go exploring to try to find
the direct link, if it sounds like something they might like to read.

so, either way!

8 – the links at the very top of your text (see, just under your name,
where it just says ‘links:’? that’s actually not part of the
cut-and-paste text, can just leave that out.

the links are only there as a reference. the code to embed should work
just fine, but if you have any difficulties, then you have the link
for the video being referenced right there with you. can just click
over and grab code directly, in case something might’ve been garbled
on the way.

9 – blog list (credits). everyone participating is listed out nicely
below in credits. you also have option to link to credits list:
http://tinyurl.com/4nref9c if concerned that the list of text might
look really long. but can always condense, just include twitter info,
etc., also.

up to you what you’d like to do. the list of blogs is there to give
due credit to every person on the music hop, along with link and
twitter info so that visitors can check out new blogs very easily,
just by clicking on a blog that sounds interesting.

on other hand, the blogs won’t go to specific, direct music hop posts,
only to main blog page, so for direct access to music hop stops across
various blogs, the list would only be useful for the first day or two.
but then the music hop posts will shift as new posts go up, and so the
blog list will be out of date in time. so, not useful as a reference
to find direct blog hops.

but for the first day, very useful for visitors in finding every hop
stop quickly, even if someone delayed in posting. it’s basically there
(or on tour site, as blog credits list) so everyone gets due credit.

it should look fine on your blog post, but option to just mention blog
list credits and link over to blog list credits if space is an issue,
but it’s totally up to you, whatever works out best for you.

10 – mmmmm….trying to think what else, but think that’s all covered.
oh! yes, #2 (updating so that ‘take me there’ points directly to
specific blog
hop post on blog after yours) is really important.

if the blog stops aren’t linked up, someone will be left out, or the
circuit will break and readers will get lost along the way and be
frustrated.

so, whenever the blog post after yours in sequence goes up, if you can
quickly update that link on your post, the hop will work very nicely
and smoothly go from one blog to the next.

the last one closes the circuit by going to the beginning. then, if
anyone comes in on ANY of the stops, they can just easily and simply
follow along on the stops and visit everyone.

so, that’s why it’s a small point but a pretty important one.

the hop still a few days away, and will probably be a pain to remember
‘oh, right, remember to update that link…’ for a few days. so, will
try to send quick reminder so you don’t have yet one more thing to
worry about and recall for the day.

(unless also totally forget to send reminders…possible!

think that’s it, though, believe it’s all covered and hopefully will
look really cute and nice when all put together.

vvb32 is doing a menu of ‘my take on the tunes,’ also, so will have a
cute intro for everyone, as well. think it’ll be very adorable and
hope you have fun.

see you in a day or so, away we go!

INFO BEGINS

Decription (for context only, not part of text):
Random Magic Tour: Vive L’Amour
He Said/She Said: Musical blog hop

Romance, flirting, mad passion,
melancholy regret and bitter heartbreak…
Find songs that share every nuance of love
from male and female points of view,
on this sweet musical blog hop!

7 – tawni
links:
burn for you: http://tinyurl.com/28xweku
endless dream: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmT0VRUsrE&feature=related
RM trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImIzIx4IeQQ

(intro)
Music is a strong theme in <i>Random
Magic</i>(http://tinyurl.com/46q6xbj) — so strong, in fact, that one
of the celestial characters Winnie and Henry meet is Efterpe, the Muse
of music. (http://tinyurl.com/yg8jh9m)

Love is another strong theme in the book, and so in honor of Valentine’s Day,
here’s a fun blog hop to check out, featuring songs about love.

(image – random magic small cover) (http://tinyurl.com/2d2xvcf)

For each stop, you’ll be able to listen to two love songs — one love
song written by (or interpreted by) a man, and one by a woman, to be
fair and give the fellows equal time to wax lyrical or poetic or
happy-go-lucky or broken-hearted or philosophical, and so on…

You are here: #7 of 7: The Bookworms

(image – music hop) http://tinyurl.com/4qdpcjd (Lg) or
http://tinyurl.com/467w75j (Med) or http://tinyurl.com/4k32d8m (No
frame)

<iframe title=”YouTube video player” width=”450″ height=”375″
src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/vupLZ-4aCi8” frameborder=”0″
allowfullscreen></iframe>

<i>Burn for You</i> (Shortwave Radio remix) – TobyMac

He said:

<i>You’ve got me higher than Kilimanjaro (http://tinyurl.com/pf6wj)
Got me believing I can save the day
I’m up and running like there ain’t no tomorrow
I’d rather burn for you than go my way
I feel revived again
I’m energized again
I want the world to know
I burn for you, burn for you
I feel revived again
I am alive again</i>

Song’s commentary on love: Love is a fire – of course, that can be
anything from a lit match to a forest fire.

<iframe title=”YouTube video player” width=”450″ height=”375″
src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/gFmT0VRUsrE” frameborder=”0″
allowfullscreen></iframe>

<i>Endless Dream</i> – Conjure One

She said:

<i>It’s all coming back to me now
That strange and almost endless dream
where I was you and you were me
You opened up your eyes and I could see
that you were falling from the world
As aimless as a shooting star
in orbit around me
Thinking I was somebody else
and terrified to look at me and see yourself</i>

Song’s commentary on love: Dreams and love are two things which can be
wonderful and fascinating, yet make absolutely no sense. Both are also
quite difficult to dissect in a laboratory.

<iframe title=”YouTube video player” width=”450″ height=”375″
src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/ImIzIx4IeQQ” frameborder=”0″
allowfullscreen></iframe>

Shown above: <i>Random Magic</i> book trailer

<i>Random Magic</i>(http://tinyurl.com/46q6xbj) quotes:

<i>His tri-colored eyes gleamed with complicity…Beautiful, brilliant
Callie (http://tinyurl.com/yg8jh9m). The first closet romantic, if
there ever was one.</i> (More) (http://tinyurl.com/46q6xbj)

<i>“Ah,” he said, his hypnotic amber gaze (http://tinyurl.com/2e55j3n)
flicking towards the stairs. “My beloved.”
Henry followed his stare. A slender woman in stygian green brocade had
materialized soundlessly at the head of the stairs, her face in
shadow.</i> (More) (http://tinyurl.com/46q6xbj)

Watch <i>Random Magic</i> trailer (http://tinyurl.com/yl26xwa) – More
<i>Random Magic</i>: Browse (http://tinyurl.com/4974sb9)

Check out music stop #1 of 7: Take me there (http://tinyurl.com/nzkf5y)

(image – candy heart) (http://tinyurl.com/4mkjoql green daisies)
Bonus candy heart! Collect this sweet treat to play
Queen of Hearts tour game: Browse prizes (http://tinyurl.com/4tdxqck)

(If you enjoy a particular music pick, please consider buying the
track to help support the person or group that created it for
everyone’s enjoyment.)

This music hop is part of <i>Random Magic</i> Tour: Vive L’Amour, feel
free to browse other Valentine’s Day special features here
(http://tinyurl.com/46le8wr). For the impatient, here are all the
blogs on the hop:

Menu – vvb32 Reads (http://tinyurl.com/nzkf5y)
#1 of 7: vvb32 Reads (http://tinyurl.com/nzkf5y)
Twitter: @vvb32reads (http://twitter.com/vvb32reads)

#2 of 7: Willowdust Reviews – Tina’s Book Reviews (http://tinyurl.com/2352r6q)
Twitter: @BooksAtTinas (http://twitter.com/booksattinas)

#3 of 7: Elbit Blog (http://tinyurl.com/dnlval)
Twitter: @MeriGreenleaf (http://twitter.com/merigreenleaf)

#4 of 7: This Miss Loves To Read (http://tinyurl.com/2aagpvt)
Twitter: @MissIrenne (http://twitter.com/MissIrenne)

#5 of 7: The True Book Addict (http://tinyurl.com/qo6un2)
Twitter: @truebookaddict (http://twitter.com/truebookaddict)

#6 of 7: Fiction Folio (http://tinyurl.com/4dj2wtd)
Twitter: @taramq (http://twitter.com/taramq)

#7 of 7: The Bookworms (http://tinyurl.com/49ttp6a)
Twitter: @TawniBookWorm (http://twitter.com/TawniBookWorm)

Reader invitation: Do you have a favorite love song? Feel free to
share your suggestion in the comments.

Happy Valentine’s Day!