Very Inspiring Blogger Award

By Lucinda Elliot

I have been nominated for an award! This by lovely Lauyrn Arpil, whose YA books I love.

Take a look at her blog http://laurynapril.blogspot.co.uk/ to find out about those intriguing, psychologically slanted paranormal YA books.

There’s a sequel to ‘Into the Deep’ coming out soon, and I’m eager to read it, though sadly, I stopped being a YA a long time ago. I really enjoy Ivy and Brandt as a team.

So, I can only say, Thanks, Lauryn, you are a star, and your blog is always an intriguing read.

So, to comply with the rules, seven facts about myself.

1. I am a names geek.

2. I find polishing boots and shoes nice and soothing, so my
family tend to have wonderful glossy shoes.

3. I love tea. I love tea! I love tea!!!

4. I was so horrified by ‘1984’ when I read it when young – and got a
ridiculous phobia about it over the years, to the point where I felt that my day was somehow polluted if I saw it in a library. Recognising
this as neurotic, I did a psychological experiment on myself and practised ‘desensitising’ myself about it as I understood the process.

Accordingly, I went up to the dreaded object, touched it, handled it, read one sentence, read a paragraph, finally read about the torture scenes.. Ridiculous, eh? And I’ve never minded rats…

Well, I’m glad to say it worked and these days I don’t shudder with abhorrence when I see it, but I still say that is one horrific book, as of course, it was intended to be.

5. On a point so hammered home in 1984 – surveillance – I am
concerned for the threat to civil liberties by constant surveillance by CCTV in towns.
Ah, yes, I know the arguments – it can be invaluable in catching violent criminals (witness that man who carried out a disgusting attack on two women from behind recently being caught by CCTV) but I think we must still be very wary of accepting constant surveillance.I remember when I was a child the surveillance that we practised in Russia was deplored in the British press.

Now we have it ourselves, it has suddenly become a good thing, on the grounds that ‘If you aren’t doing anything wrong, you won’t object to it’. No doubt the KGB said the same back then…

6. When posting on my thread about Wuthering Heights on Goodreads
I noted something ironic in my attitude to Heathcliff. I started that
discussion stating that I am amazed I am that anyone can see him, with his habit of bullying women and children as romantic, and how ridiculous it is that he devotes his whole life to taking vengeance on the people who caused him to lose his love object Cathy (and their descendants).

But, I equally dislike the less well known Charley Kinraid from Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘Sylvia’s Lovers’ because of his emotional shallowness. He’s conveniently able to forget his vows to marry Sylvia or nobody within a few months, and as for his compromises over the press gang – anyone who’s had the misfortune to discuss the issue with me knows how I can go on about that!

Now, there’s a contradiction, I dislike the one for obsessive faithfulness, the other for emotional shallowness! There’s no pleasing me.

7. I have a terrible singing voice. I would love to sing well, but…Nobody
can stand hearing me sing. The cat runs away! I can’t stand hearing me sing!

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Te Houtaewa and the Stolen Sack of Kumara