Liebster Blog Award!

The lovely (see photo, and you’ll see) Lauryn April, writer of ‘Into the Deep’ has nominated me for the Liebster Award.

The rules of the Liebster Award are as follows:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees;

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)

4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

So, thank you so much Lauryn April, who wrote the delightful ‘Into the Deep’ and who’s blog is at laurynapril.blogspot.co.uk Love you!

Random Facts About Me:

1.  I think all the literary agents who rejected my writing or those of my cyber writer friends should have their heads held under a cow’s behind. 

2.  I’m dyslexic.

3.   I’m addicted to Lucozade and tea.

4.   I’m an environmentalist geek.

5.   I think Kirk Douglas was a great actor (no doubt still is, if he’s still acting). I am sorry to have to admit, fanatical about the topic of rape though I may be, that he even made the rapist Einar in ‘The Vikings’ sympathetic enough for me to feel very sorry for him. Now, there’s an achievement…

6.      I detest it when people begin posts on the thread where they’re going to disagree with you with the exclamation, ‘Wow!’ ( Wow! I’ve handed out some ammunition there!)

7.   I spent three and a half years of my childhood living in a beautiful Regency rectory (no, we were’t rich, my family used to do up old houses in the days before it became fashionable). Those beautifully proportioned light rooms! Avoid  doing that if you’re not going to stay, everyone. Every house since has  been a bit of a let down after that…

8.     My favourite Shakespeare play is ‘All’s Well That End’s Well’ (I would be awkward!) That reminds me, I’m heading a discussion about it over on Goodreads if you happen to be interested.

 9.    I’d like to go for a long holiday in Provence; can’t afford it, though.

10.   I’m quite little – 164 centimetres.

11.   I am completely, totally, hopelessly, pathetically bad at IT.  I am trying to improve it, but it’s a long, long time coming, like the Ealing to Richmond number 65 bus.

   Answers to Lauryn’s Questions:

1.       What got you into blogging?

Well, it was a good opportunity to run off at the mouth about my opinions and all those Publicise your Ebook  articles recommended it, so…

2.       Favorite TV show and why?

Don’t have one at the moment, Lauryn. I’m sorry to say I was enjoying the revamp of ‘Dallas’ until it stopped. it was so bad it was good!

3.      When writing books are there any reoccurring themes in your work, or if you’re not an author are there any reoccurring themes in the books you like to review?

Gothic and paranormal or occult stuff, for sure; I like strong women characters with a sense of humour.

4.       What were you like as a teenager?

Awful! Unreasonable, opinionated, argumentative…a bit like I am now, in fact.

5.       Paperbacks or e-books and why?

Not sure if you mean my own  or someone else’s? My own ebook ‘That Scoundrel Émile Dubois’ is over the top Gothic adventure that I suppose could be termed ‘Steampunk’. I love reading a lot of genres, and my recent favourites have been:-

‘Into the Deep’ by one Lauryn April.

‘The Year God’s Daughter and  ‘the Thinera King’ by  Rebecca Lochlann

‘The Fire Nigh Ball’ by Anne Carlisle

‘Watermelon’ by Kate Hanney

Also, my writing partner Jo Danilo’s work, ‘11.42’ and ‘The Curtain Twitcher’s Handbook.’ She’s must  get them out there.

Also, at the moment I’m enjoying reading ‘On the Evolution of Insanity’ by Haresh Dashwarni.

Do you have a funny vacation story?

The funniest I can’t tell, as  they might hurt someone’s feelings. A grotesquely funny story was where I got salmonella abroad, and when I got home, looking like an  animated corpse, complete with sticking-out bones and ghastly complexion, staggering along, leaning weakly on furniture, etc, a women I knew said, ‘Oh, so you had salmonella. What a shame you didn’t get a sun tan?’!!!!

7..   Have you ever been out of the country and where did you go?

Across to Europe, manly, but once as far as Tunisia. I want to come and see the US.

8.      Book you’re most looking forward to reading this year?

Rebecca Lochlann’s got ‘In the Moon of Asterion ‘ coming out and that wil be a firecracker. Lauryn April’s next is eagerly awaited, too, and Anne Carlisle’s sequel to ‘The Firenight Ball.’ I’m also looking forward to reading Kate Hanney’s ‘Safe’.

9.       Biggest turn off in a book?

The main male character, or one of them, being one of those guys without human weaknesses, you know the sort, invariably irresistible to all the women, who just roll over and swoon at the sight of them. The women equivalents are called ‘Mary Sue’s’ but what are the men called? I heard somewhere that they could be called ‘Adrian’s’. Seems like a good idea to me.

10.    What are you doing when you’re not reading or writing?

I do spend quite a lot of time making a fool of myself and getting things wrong. When not doing that, I turn into a dung bettle and the things I get up to don’t bear thinking about…

11.     Favorite holiday and why?

France. I love that country.

Questions from me:

1.  Born where? Were you brought up thereabouts?

2..  Least favourite subject at school?

3.    Most hateful; character you can think of in classic literature?

4.         Most embarrassing memory you care to reveal?

5.          Guilty pleasure in the way of a terrible film you love?

6.          Are you bossy?

7.         How often a week do you travel by :  –

a. Donkey b. Camel c. Elephant  d. Farm cart e. Shanks Pony?

8. Favourite poem?
9. Favourite author?
10. Are you a romantic (in either Byronic or vaguely modern sense of the term?
11. Are you prepared to give a deserving cause (in this case, one Lucinda Elliot) a donation? If so, fill in attached form …Do you find it annoying when charities  send what looks like a survey, but it’s really a way of trying to embarrass you into donating? I’d much rather they asked at once and directly myself, and I always send it back saying I might well have donated if they had made a straightforward request, which is the truth. What do you think?

Eleven nominees: –

Lovely Jo Danilo, my invaluable writing partner, love you!  mymykerikeri.wordpress.com

The outstanding writer Rebecca Lochlann rebeccalochlann.wordpress.com

My next nominee won’t be in any mood to bother about nominations, or suchlike, but I’m giving it because she has written on a subject we most of us can hardly bear to contemplate, but we should. The death of a child. tersia.burger:wordpress.com

Next, with congratulations on finding that publisher to Anne Carlisle, I so loved Marlena, your heroine: annecarlislephd.blogspot.co.uk

To Buebirdsunshine, once CaramelloKoalaLover, with love bluebirdsunshine.wordpres.com

Thomas Cotterill, excellent blogger and writer, a man amongst this monstrous regiment thomascotterill.wordpress.com

Then, Kate Hanney. Loved that Watermelon!  www.katehanney.com/new-teenagefiction-blog

And this blogger may have over 200 followers, probably does but she’s been so helpful and we’ve been having such a laugh on Goodreads I have to nominate her: rebutler.wordpress.com
Finally, Justin, a second man,  who’s got a great spooky website and had the misfortune to interview me recently (his IT went wrong at once, wouldn’t you have guessed with me about?) http://jbienvenue.webs.com/apps/blog/

As Bluebirdsunshine tells me she already has the award, I’m nominating Emily Guido instead, another excellent blog. http://authoremilyguido.com/   

Keep on with the good work, everyone.

 

 

 

 

These blogs are all fascinating, so do take a look…