Liebster Award? What?

The blogging sphere is a generous world.

Thanks to Joe Warnimont (Writewithwarnimont.com), I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award, which is an award basically to congratulate up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers. Sounds like me. I’m incredibly honored at this. Thank you, Joe.

So, part of the award say I’m to tell 11 facts about myself.

1. I’m short. 4’11”.

2. I couldn’t read until the 7th grade (Check out My Why)

3. I love rock climbing

4. I also love hiking and bike riding

5. I write because it’s my passion. There are days I zone out completely because I’ve got a story running through my brain and it won’t let me go. Kind of like how Terry Brooks describes it. I live in two worlds, my writing and reality.

6. Colorado’s my home. The mountains will always have a soft spot in my heart.

7. I grew up in a family of all girls except my dad.

8. I grew up on a camp because my parents worked there. Exploring 160 acres of forest informs a lot of my writing.

9. I received my bachelors in English in 2008.

10. I’ve a wonderful husband who works in EMS.

11. hmmm. Social media’s kinda a scary monster to me. Up until I started the blog, I had no idea how huge blogging is.

Second part to the award, answering the questions Joe asks.

1. What’s your big project right now?

Editing my 1st novel, Racing Shadows.

2. If you could choose one writer to write a story about your life who would it be?

Oh, this is a hard one. Terry Goodkind’s great at weaving the world. He’d do a fantastic job of making my world, beliefs and loves come to life for others. But Brent Weeks does a marvelous job with his characters. He’d make my friends and I all seem B.A. and fun to be around all the while adding in our faults in one fell swoop. Or John Flanagan would make me sound funny and make readers smell the coffee in my hand…Can I have a combination of all three?

3. Who would play you in the film adaptation of the story on your life?

Dakota Fanning. I’m enthralled with her talent. And she’s blond, like me.

4. Self-Publishing or traditional publishing?

So far I’m looking at traditional…we’ll see how it goes.

5. Last book you read, current book you are reading and the next book you will be reading?

Just finished The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett and now I’m on to the second book in his series called The Desert Spear. After that, while I’m waiting for the third book to arrive at my post box, I’ll probably read Brandon Sanderson’s Elantris. If you can’t tell, I love fantasy.

6. Biggest writing pet peeve?

That…half the time it’s a useless word that can be deleted without changing anything. And yet I end up using it all the time. Grrrr. Or words that make my voice passive and distant such as ‘noticed’ or ‘wondered’. They slip in with far too much regularity.

7. If you could travel back in time (or forward) what period would you live in, and why?

I love the time period I live in. True, going back to say London during the renaissance would be fun but lets face it, I’m a woman and they wouldn’t like me carrying a sword or wearing pants like I’d want to. So here I live and I can dream up stories of other places and times, all the while enjoying my cozy home.

8. If you were handed $1000 and could only spend it on one thing (and you can’t save it or put it towards loans), what would it be?

Can’t put it towards loans? I’ve an accounting minor, this one hurts a bit. But if the $1000 couldn’t be put toward debt, I’d put it into travel. I love seeing new places and visiting friends. There’s something very inspiring about it.

9. If the world was being taken over by aliens and you could grab one thing before you left home, what would it be?

Great question. I’d say my computer but if aliens have the world, I doubt the computer’s going to last very long. So then my survival kicks in. My husband and I have in our cars what we call our Gone to Hell bags. This comes from living in Colorado where, if you go off the road in the middle of winter, freezing isn’t unheard of. I’d grab this bag. It’s contents (sleeping bag, warm clothing, good boots and so on) would help keep me alive.

10. What is your favorite blog to read and why?

Ksenia Anske- http://www.kseniaanske.com

If I could nominate her for this award I would but she’s well past her first 200 followers. This is a woman who’s had a hard past but is working on her first novel and sharing with the world with a passion.

11. If you could be a villain in a book, who would it be?

Never considered this before…Long John Silver from Treasure Island. Great leader, likable, and manages to change sides whenever it suites him and gets away with it=)

Third part of the award is passing on the award...to 11 others. Oh my. I started blogging in November and I’m still expanding my reader, but a lot of those I follow have way more than 200 followers. Plus, this feels a little bit like the mass chain emails that say, if you believe in such and such, share this with 10 people in your contacts. Kinda feels like it takes away the value of the award. I don’t know about 11, but I’ll share a few I truly believe deserve recognition. (Not all of these have responded to my emails about the award, but they have wonderful blogs that still deserve checking out.)

Sebring’s Snapshots– Cindy’s an amazing woman who is exploring photography. She’s put in a lot of time to help me with pictures for my blog.

Hope for Haiti or http://emevi.blogspot.com/– This is a nonprofit that supports churches and schools in Haiti. Having been on a trip with this organization, I’ve seen the value of their work.

Inion N. Mathair– This is a blog by a mother/daughter combo. Very insightful and generous.

Write or Wrong– A writer reaching out on the waves of social media. Check out her Chloe Prime: Alien Space Vet post.

These are the four at the moment I nominate. There are a lot more great blogs out there that deserve to be nominated, however, these are the ones I’d like to high light.

Now, the last part of this is asking 11 questions to those I’ve nominated.

1. What inspired your blog?

2. What are two passions in your life?

3. What genre do you prefer to read?

4. Who is your favorite author?

5. If it’s a rainy saturday, what do you do?

6.If you could meet anyone, who would it be?

7. To steal one from Joe’s book, if aliens were taking over the world and you could grab one thing, what would it be?

8. Where’s your favorite place in the world?

9. Who is your greatest supporter?

10. If you won the lottery, what would you do first with it?

11. What are you currently reading?

Blessings,

Jennifer

P.S. Here are the full rules of the award.

The Liebster Award is intended to recognize up-and-coming blogs, particularly those with fewer than 200 followers. Here are the rules:
• Post eleven facts about yourself
• Answer the questions posed by your nominator
• Pass the award on to eleven new recipients
• Post eleven new questions to your recipients
• Post a copy of the badge on your blog (type “Liebster Award” into Google images; you’ll find plenty to choose from). Notify nominees and include links to the originating blog, as well as the new recipients.