The Sunday Roast

"Smile Please!" Jen Zooms In To Show Us Her Magical World Of Photography. And Folks, She's A Writer Too

I have a little change for us this week:
I have a brilliant photographer and writer combined.

This week's interview is with Jen Goettin
who writes her daily blog Exquisite Juncture

plus . . . her daily photographic blog Jennifer Photography .

In addition to this she has a stunning Personal Profile on both blogs

(You look deep in creative thought, Jen
I can almost see the gear wheels moving! LOL)

Thank you Jen for appearing on the show

A very warm welcome to you and your followers

Here's the first of the standard questions. Why do you blog?

I started blogging about a year ago. A family member had one, and it was so much fun to read hers, that I decided to try my hand at it. I really enjoy writing, and I like getting feedback on what I write. For a while I did stop writing and closed my writing blog, concentrating entirely on my Jennifer Photography blog with my daily posts. Again, I enjoy the feedback. I also really like the online communities I have found through blogging. It is really cool to connect with people all over the world. Now I blog for me, and I am currently reading and learning about my hobby, which is photography. So, my blog has become sort of an image journal as I learn. Recently I have opened my writing blog, Exquisite Juncture and I have started regular posts, including one on the recent scary Texas blizzards when I got stuck in a car - called It looked like the beginning of the end and I was really scared.

What's the story behind your blog name?

My blog name is kind of blah. When I switched over to just posting photos for a while, I needed a new name, and so my name with the word photography seemed the most logical. I like my URL though - and I got "skidato" when I was creating the blog. It was the word I had to type in to verify I was a human and not some bot trying to spam blogger. I have a private blog titled "Loving Life" because, well, we love life. It's more of a family blog, even though our family is just me, my husband, and our two (spoiled) dogs. My "Exquisite Juncture" blog used to be "My Moments" and it was stories of the silly things that have happened, either from my actions or just randomly. Eventually the lines between my private blog (Loving Life) and my blog (My Moments) got too blurred and I combined the two. Writing is a sort of outlet for me, and I missed that connection with other other bloggers. So, I undeleted "My Moments" and re-named it. I have some ideas for the direction I want that blog to go in, currently, the last few posts about the blizzard in Texas would have been on our family blog, but I just had to share that experience with the world. I hope to make "Exquisite Juncture" a blend of my poetry, fiction writing, a few stories of me and mine, photos, and musings on life today. Plus, I liked the URL - my name and I have been told I have moxie, which was one of the top ten ultimate compliments I have ever received. Now, how could I delete that URL? :)

What is the best thing about being a blogger?

Aside from meeting really cool people, I think the best thing is the fact that my voice is out there, and can be heard by anyone who wants to listen.

What key advice would you give to a newbie blogger?

First - remember, everything you put out there stays out there. Even deleted posts can still be found, and sometimes entire blogs. Blogger and Reader are connected, and I have been able to see deleted posts/blogs by typing the URL into my reader. I wish Google would fix this.
Second - use spell check. Blogs that are full of spelling errors are not fun to read, no matter how awesome the content, and "a lot" is ALWAYS two words.
Third (and last) - if you are interested in something, chances are at least one other person is too. Find blogs that post information about things which interest you, join communities/blog clubs. It's fun!

What is the most significant blog post you've ever read?

Probably anything by Barry at An Explorer's View Of Life .

What is the most significant blog post you've ever written?

This post was transferred to my private blog, but recently I opened another blog, Exquisite Juncture and I have re-posted it there. It was a link to a petition to stop the aerial hunting of wolves.

I have a number of favourite photographic shots from my photographic blog, Jennifer Photography:
Patiently Waiting
Interesting/Amusing Signs
All Time Favorite
Do you remember? (Toy from my childhood)

If you were to suggest two blogs for roasting who would you pick, and why?

Oh boy... hmmm, how about Barry, at An Explorer's View Of Life and, Rebecca, at The Dusty Cellar Ok, and Mark, at The Butler And The Bagman Chronicles .

Barry, who during the fight for his life has remained humorous and positive - he is my hero, and I have never met him. And Rebecca, who claims to be a novice photographer, but her work is AMAZING. She truly has a gift. Mark is hilarious, and always has something fun going on.

That concludes the formal aspect of the interview but it would be nice to get to know you a little better while you are slowly turning on the roasting spit. So while you are screaming in agony above the open fire here are a few more questions for you.

Pick three things you can't live without (no you cannot have ice cubes to cool you down)

Burt's Bees Medicated Chapstick, an elastic band for my hair, and my favorite brown sweatshirt that is lined with faux fur, and has a broken zipper pull, but I still wear it. :)

If we were to make a movie about blogland, what would it be and who would you cast in the leading roles?

It would be set in the future, and a woman would be discovering who her long lost sister was through the blog archives. There'd be lots of flashbacks, and clues to fill in the gaps between posts. So, as she reads, she has these vintage items around her - items from her sister, and she has to piece together the mystery of what happened to her sister. Her sister went missing shortly after her birth, and she needs to figure out what happened, because she has a son with a rare blood condition and her sister's blood may save her son's life. There is a guy who helps her, he has a lot of knowledge and insight - but he can only help for so long... Ok, um...the stars? The woman would have to be Jessica at Learning Along The Way. Her long lost sister would be Heather at Simply Heather's Blog. The son would be Keith at Holding Moments. The helpful guy would be Scriptor at Ramblings from my Chair.

If you were an ice cream cone, which flavour would you prefer and who would you most want to lick you?

Chocolate is my flavor choice...as for the licker, my husband, thank you!

I would not expect any other answer to that given! You have perfect taste, Jen!

Describe in one sentence your perfect day.

My perfect day would be driving around town, stopping to photograph anything I deem interesting, and if I were really brave, I'd actually explore my favorite abandoned haunts.

If you were a fictional writer which one would you be and why?

Tolkien. He is an original master.

And finally if you have answered all the questions I invite you to ask me one in return - it's the least I can do. OK fire away! I wonder what it will be?

Eddie, Thank you for having me. For my "roast Eddie" question, I would like to ask . . . .

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?

I have received a lot of advice during my life - some good and some bad.
The best blogging advice I ever received was from David McMahon of Authorblog when he said, "Wherever you go ALWAYS take a camera!" Prior to that I missed three fantastic shots and I can see them in my mind's eye, with these captions:-

A car on fire, blazing away at night! - fortunately no-one was hurt but it would have been a great shot with the caption, "Emergency, which service please?"

A hot air balloon just missing our church roof , right after the service. My caption for that one would have been, "Sorry vicar, we are a bit late dropping in!"

A glider flying low over the 400ft Cheddar Gorge on a clear sunny day - it would have made a fantastic shot! Caption: I'm looking for my thermals!

I will never ever get an opportunity to shoot any of these again. So I always take my camera everywhere these days.

Thank you once agin Jen for this interview _________________________________________________

Today's Sunday Roast with Jennifer is the 99th in a weekly
series of interviews with bloggers from around the world. ______________________________________________

This interview will feature in The Roll of Honour
for all published Roasts. To view press HERE _______________________________________________

NEXT WEEK - DAVID McMAHON
features in
THE SUNDAY ROAST SPECIAL
for the 100th edition