When I saw that my writing buddy Meradeth Houston had nominated me for the Liebster Award, I had a rush of deja vu. Sure enough I went back in my archives and saw that I had been given this award before…by none other than Meradeth! (She must really like my blog. 🙂 ) But that was like a year and a half ago and the questions were different, so I’ll take another crack at it (although, I’ll admit I stole some of 11 facts from last time). And I have been retroactively nominated by Mary Waibel and J.Q. Rose, so make sure to check out Mary’s blog and J.Q.’s blog.
Here’s how the award works. The Liebster Blog Award translates to “the beloved” or “the dearest.” The award is given as a way to celebrate smaller blogs. (Only blogs with under 200 followers can be awarded.) Before you accept the award, there are a certain set of tasks you must complete. The first is to reveal 11 facts about you, answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you, and then create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer.
So my 11 facts are:
- My favorite Harry Potter book is Goblet of Fire.
- I used to be a puzzle magazine editor and now edit books.
- When I was three years old, I told everyone I was a boy because I wanted to play baseball for the New York Yankees.
- My elbows are double-jointed.
- I once pierced my own belly button.
- The last book I read is Jennifer A. Nielsen’s The Shadow Throne.
- I have really weird dreams all the time, some of them lucid.
- My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh.
- I could eat pizza every day.
- I totally have a crush on Hook from Once Upon a Time.
- Many of the characters in Elixir Bound were based on real people (including myself!).
And here are the questions Meradeth asked me to answer:
1. What do you like best about your personality?
My stubbornness is both a blessing and a curse (it’s probably the main reason why I haven’t quit writing), but I have learned “not to cut off my nose to spite my face” (as my mother used to say I always did).
2. What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Dare to get excited, even when you might get let down. We could all get hit by a marshmallow truck tomorrow. ~Laurie Halse Anderson
3. What does it take for a book to stay with you long after reading it?
A book that manages to surprise me in some way.
4. If you could tell an author that you admire one thing, what would it be?
“I wish I had written that.”
5. Who is one person who always makes you happy?
The Boy…even when he makes me angry, sad, or so frustrated I want to punch something (not him!), he brings so much joy to my life it makes me happy.
6. What was the best birthday you ever had?
My 30th birthday was pretty perfect. My family and a few close friends took a boat ride through the Thimble Island in Long Island Sound that ended with the sunset. It was summer, the breeze was cool, good food and drinks, I had my favorite people with me, and I didn’t have to do a single thing other than enjoy myself.
7. What drives you to share your thoughts about books on social media?
I hope that by sharing books I enjoy, other people will find books they, too, enjoy.
8. What’s the best thing an author ever said to you?
Never give up because you might be on the one yard line, and you just don’t know it. ~Donna Gephart
9. What do you consider the ideal length for a book in terms of the number of pages?
No ideal number. Enough pages to tell the story that needs to be told.
10. What fictional character do you most resemble?
Well, I guess that would be the one in Elixir Bound that I based on myself. 🙂
11. If you could give the person reading this an uplifting message, what would it be?
“Find you magic!”
So now I must make my nominations…and I nominate you, dear reader. Any blogger out there who would like to participate, just leave a comment here and I’ll include a link to your blog here. You can just answer the same questions posed above.
I’ve got fabulous bloggers Christopher Mannino, Suzanne de Montigny, and Marie Laval to take up my offer of being nominated for the Liebster Award. And I’ll be happy to add any other bloggers who would like to play (instructions in the comments)…just let me know in the comments. 🙂