Leibster Award nominations – Awards, huh, good god y’all … #2

Time to shake off my Spanx (other elasticated, butt-strangling clothing technology is available), pour myself into something sequined and age inappropriate and wander down the virtual red carpet once again.

I have received four very kind and generous nominations for the Leibster Award. Some of these nominations were given a long while ago, so to those who nominated me and have waited weeks for me to finally get round to doing something about said nominations – I apologise for my tardiness.

I could make excuses – early-ish onset senility, post-traumatic stress disorder over the recent UK elections, the loss of a limb to a ravenous big cat – but they would, of course be just that – excuses.

I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to accept the award, but let’s pretend I’ve been involved in a six-figure-sum bidding war over my latest book, torn between the niche publisher offering little but who could secure me an adaptation deal with good old Auntie Beeb (the BBC to non-Brits) and the huge, global monster publisher who want to sell the rights to James Cameron so he can trash the dialogue and fill it full of eight-foot tall blue aliens, despite the fact it’s set in a 12th century monastery in County Clare.*

Yeah, let’s say that.

For the record and with gratitude for the fact they read this nonsense, let alone think enough of it to give me an award, the lovely people who nominated me are –

Eleanore Miller from Eleanore’s Ramblings.

Lucy Danvers of Icecoffeecouture.

Mary Tyas of Bali info

Annie of A Beginner’s Blogger Diary

The Leibster Rules seem to have morphed over time and change according to which site you visit. Here’s what I’ve chosen to do-

1. thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.

2. display the award on your blog by including it in your post.

3. answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.

4. nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers.

5. create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.

6. list these rules in your post.

8. Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award.

I’ve chosen to answer the questions set by Annie

1. Why do you blog? What drives you?

Hmm. I’ll be honest. I want to give up my day job and write full-time for a living from a tree house with a beautiful view of the sea/ a forest/ David Tennant.

I’m told these days publishers expect writers to venture out into the webisphere, to be accessible, to have built an online presence, preferably with a few hundred thousand followers. This is why I started a blog. However . . . since February, I’ve met lots of lovely, amazingly talented people online and now I spend as much time reading what they have to say as developing my own following. What am I like?

2. What is your blogging routine?

I try and write the week’s blog posts on Monday and schedule them so they’re trickled out over the week. Wednesday Word Tangle on Wednesday (I’m no rebel, man) and Books in the Blood is probably stuck to Monday. I’ve just got involved with (when I say ‘just’ I mean I’ve taken part in one!) Micro Bookends Thursday micro fiction challenge. Very tasty.

3. What message do you want to transmit?

Message? Good lord, I’m too dense to transmit a message. I try and make my posts entertaining and short-ish. I like being daft and hope to raise a smile and share a bit of fiction along the way. That’s it.

4. Who is your audience?

Hmm (again). I’m redrafting a YA fantasy book at the moment but other novel ideas I’ve had have been aimed at adults (cosy crime, gothic crime, horror, steam punk), younger children (action adventure with mythical beasties). I like to read something with a bit of mystery myself, so I guess I like to write the same.

5. What do you want people to know about you?

That my laptop is called Dominic Silverstreak and that we have a very intense relationship but we like our privacy, so no papparazzi please. And if any of you ‘people’ are literary agents . . . 🙂

6. What has been your biggest challenge in life?

Being a teenager nearly broke me. And there have been a few other times . . . But hey, I’m willing to discuss my straggly gussets, but not that.

7. Give some piece of advice to your fellow bloggers.

Blimey! Me, give advice? I’m the blogger-sponge, absorbing every hint, tip and peck of guidance that comes my way. I guess from my experience as a blog reader . . . be entertaining, keep it brief (she says, hitting a word count of 12,00 plus words!) and give (just a little) of yourself.

8. What makes you happy?

Husband, son, writing, garden, the seaside.

9. Tell us about a dream come true.

The day I married my husband. The day I realised we were pregnant after two years of trying. The day that pregnancy turned into a birth. I know that’s dreams, not a dream, but hey – they’re my dreams, hands off!

10. Tell us about a dream you want to come true.

See above. Writing, tree house, David Tennant – if husband’s okay with that.

11. Where do you want to be 5 years from now?

Writing, tree house . . . I’d like to be in a Waterstones, signing copies of my second novel in my YA series, chatting to excited teens about my characters.

With a cup of tea and a gluten-free cake nearby, please.

Now, my nominees are-

desperately seeking cymbeline, an entertaiing blog about one person’s search to watch every Shakespeare play.

The Drabble, a great flash fiction site.

Still life with a grad student, sweary, ranty, funny blog.

Fannie Frankfurter, funny, honest and entertaining.

Adoption, honest, funny, blog about the ups and downs of adoption.

Fiction writer with a blog, a great site with great writing. I particularly like the ‘Cliche’ posts- always interesting.

Only 100 words, such lovely fiction and a great use of the 100 word count for serials – clever lady.

Overcoming bloglessness, writing and photo blog full of wit which I would nominate for the ‘about’ page alone.

Kittykatbitsandbobs, one of my favourite online people and originator of W4W (Word for Wednesday). Funny, cheeky and generous.

I could’ve nommed more, but you’ve all either got too many followers to qualify, or you’ve nommed me already!

Right, I’ve gone on long enough. This post is twice the length I usually write and I’m sure no one is reading anymore. So, lovely nominees – please answer the following questions.

1. Why do you blog?

2. Who’s your dream audience?

3. Cats or dogs?

4. Muesli or bacon and eggs?

5. Which was your best blog post and why?

6. Your favourite book as a kid?

7. What’s the most personal piece of information you’ve revealed on your blog? Did you regret it afterwards?

8. What are your blogging ambitions?

9. Favourite venue for a first date?

10. Would you be a superhero or a supervillain and what powers would you have?

11. What’s your dream Writer’s Cave, the place you’d love to write from?

Okay, that’s enough, I’m knackered.

Good luck to all, bonne chance, adieu. Thanks again for the kind nominations.  x

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* I would, of course sell to Auntie Beeb. Even if the cash was pathetic in comparision. No, I would – honest.