The Liebster Award

Hello all,

This is a very different post, which I hope you will find interesting. I’ve been nominated for the bloggers Liebster Award by author, Karen Dowdall https://karendowdall.com. I’m very touched by this gesture and you can visit Karen here  – she has many talents, interests and pursuits, including a love of dance and an interest in delving into human nature, both of which I can very much relate to.

Now, as I didn’t know what this award is, I had to find out more. It’s an award bloggers give to other bloggers in recognition of the value of their posts – but the key word is the German word liebster, which is a term of endearment meaning dearest, kindest, amongst a host of other definitions, and there is a variety of badges or logos you can display on your post. I’ve chosen the heart, rather than the badge, to go with the by-line of my blog, as it’s a better fit for me, and the liebster award really seems to be about ‘passing the love’. Upon accepting it, the blogger passes the love on to other bloggers who they feel deserve the award, and the cycle repeats. I’ve put a summary of rules at the bottom of the post for the bloggers I will nominate in turn.

Right, so that’s what it’s about so far. Now comes the fun! Upon acceptance (and there is a choice, you can just pass this by), you answer the questions asked by the blogger who nominated you, and in turn you get to ask a new set/the same set of questions of your nominees. I’ll probably go for a combination.

Here are my answers to the 11 questions Karen has asked me:

1. Why did you choose book blogging over something else?

Well I blog about writing, art, and the creative life, but books are at the heart of my blog I guess, because writing and reading are everything to me and I like to delve into the writer’s life and how to sustain our creativity, giving tips and support, I hope, along the way. Yes, I have my first novel to let you know about very soon, but like other writers’ blogs I follow, it’s certainly not the main reason for writing the blog, and I was conscious of this from the start – it’s to connect and learn with other writers, readers, artists and creative people, and in that vein I basically blog about what I feel passionate about.

2. What is one thing you’re really passionate about besides books?

It has to be painting, but also I’m into psychology and personal development and then, there’s nature (I just can’t come up with one other thing)

3. Have your reading tastes changed over the years?

Oh yes, big time.

In childhood it was oodles of the very non politically correct Enid Blyton, then Laura Ingalls Wilder and her Little House on the Prairie books, then a teenage interest in historical novels with the inevitable romance. Young adulthood was more about non-fiction such as the history of the American West, Scottish history (especially the Highland Clearances), psychology and philosophy – then later on reading about art and art history. And finally I moved from classic ‘realist’ novels, to contemporary, which was in line with my studies with the OU. Now I’m a Stephen King, Ian McEwan, and Margaret Atwood fan, but read more widely than ever before.

4. What is your favourite vacation spot?

Well, my holiday of a lifetime was touring some of the national parks in the U.S, in a pale gold Toyota Highlander that remains in my heart to this day. Me and my hubbie visited Yosemite, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, and finally what I loved the most – Arizona for its canyons, desert, and pueblo dwellings. So I’ll easily choose Arizona for my favourite.

5. Do you collect anything (other than books)?

Oh yes. Pebbles from beaches, seed heads, paperweights with bubbles in, coloured glass, and lately a collection of gemstones rings, and like many other artists, I have a substantial collection of my own paintings.

6. What has been your favourite book this year?

Well, I just can’t do favourites I’m afraid. I can get so much out of a variety of authors, subjects and themes – they go into my internal filing system under different compartmental headings. I am currently enjoying Clive Barker’s Imajica  and he is a new discovery for this year. I love the blend of intense realism with smatterings of fantasy and dystopia.

7. What is one law you would change if you could?

Here in the UK, to ban fox hunting in any form.

8. If you had to donate money to charity, which one would you choose?

It has to be animal related, so it would be a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a common name for animal welfare organisations around the world.

9. What is your favourite genre to read?

It seems to be ‘supernatural fiction’ right now, but this is always in a state of flux..

10. What is your dream car?

Well, I suppose it’s got to be that pale gold Toyota Highlander, but I’m very fond of my current curvy, half bubble shaped, bright red Nissan Micra.

11. What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

This is easy. It’s got to be doing my honours degree in the humanities with the Open University as a mature student, which spurred me on to a creative writing diploma and then write a novel, and I’m so grateful to the OU for accompanying me along this life path.

Here are the bloggers I wish to nominate in turn:

https://inkbiotic.com

https://aditisharma37.wordpress.com

http://laurensapala.com

https://transcribingmemory.com

https://trrobinsonpublications.com

https://ambradleyblog.wordpress.com

https://stephanhimself.wordpress.com

https://introvertdear.com

https://valeriedavies.com

https://thukumainen.wordpress.com

https://cherylcapaldotraylor.com

Here are the rules for those who wish to accept:

• Set up a post about the award and display the Leibster badge of your choice
• Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog
• Answer the 11 questions about yourself as I’ve listed below
• Nominate 11 bloggers you want to pass the award on to
• Create a new list of questions for those you’ve nominated
• Inform your nominees that you’ve nominated them for the award

And here are my 11 questions:

1.What do you feel is your greatest personal accomplishment?

2.What makes you feel joyful?

3.What makes you angry?

4.What is one law you could change if you could?

5.Where is your favourite place in the world to be?

6.What is it about your ‘favourite’ coffee shop that makes it your favourite?

7.If your house was on fire (God, forbid) what five objects/items would you just have to save?

8.Who would you prefer to play you in a movie?

9.What are your strengths?

10.What do you wish you were better at?

11.What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned about blogging?

 

And I hope those of you who take part enjoy this, as I did – over to you now…