My editor/mentor/friend and Best Selling Author Kristen Lamb started a trend this week of giving me +K on Klout about Bacon. Several others followed suit, and this week’s End is Near is my expression of gratitude. Thank you for associating me with the choice gastronomic delight of Mt. Olympus. 🙂

So many uses, so little time. *deep sigh* I’m betting this will be a post-apocalyptic staple along with Twinkies and Spam.

Announcements, Blogs, and Articles in No Particular Order

Speaking of bacon, the awesome Prince of Prose and Porcine Delights, Ryne Douglas Pearson, now has his books Confessions and All for One available in audio. Also, watch for his new release, Cop Killer, later this summer.

New York Times Best Selling Author and Heckuva Guy James Rollins released his latest Sigma Force novel, Bloodline, this week. In it, war dog Kane and his handler join the Sigma Force team. Watch for an interview with this outstanding author  here with Bayard & Holmes on Monday, and click on this link for James Rollins’ Bloodline Tour Dates. Don’t be shy. Stop in and say hello. He’s a very nice man.

Jenny Hansen hosts Kasey Matthews, author of Preemie: Lessons in Love, Life, and Motherhood. Inside the Life of a Preemie Parent

As my son says, “When life gives you lemons, say ‘screw this’ and go get a steak.” Susie Lindau knows where to find her steak where the weather is concerned. I Am So Hot! and Dancing for Rain! A Colorado Wildfire Photo Essay

My friend and high school classmate Bob Farkas sent me this spoof on espionage which isn’t entirely a spoof. Tradecraft at The Covert Comic, by John Alejandro King.

Great advice for writers who are experiencing ‘white out’ from International Best Selling Author and Graceful Lady Vicki Hinze. White Out–When Writers Blank Out on the Page

The funny and clever zombie advocate, Shantnu Tiwari, reports that Zombies Demand Equal Pay and Rights.

Facebook’s New ‘Find Friends Nearby’ Feature: Creepy or Clever?

I found this kind of cool. Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman created this giant Rubber Duck that measures nearly 12 meters high as part of his Rubber Duck Project in 2009. Since then Hofman has taken the Duck around the world to float it down rivers and other major international water-ways. No doubt it baffles people, but I’m guessing it brings on lots of smiles.

As Hofman says, “The Rubber Duck knows no frontiers, it doesn’t discriminate (against) people and doesn’t have a political connotation.” It just makes people smile. This video was taken in Osaka, Japan where rubber ducks are apparently quite proliferous.

Okay, fess up. Will you be trying the Squeez Bacon? 

All the best to all of you for a week of simple smiles.

Piper Bayard