Saturday, January 19, 2013

I've Been Nominated!

And even more exciting news (what a stellar week)! My blog has been Nominated by April Books and Kelly Anne Blount  for the Liebster Award! Thank you, lovely ladies, for the nominations!

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.

Random Facts About Me:

1. I'm completely obsessed with music. If there isn't any playing at any point in the day, it makes me anxious. I have over 4,000 songs on my iPod. Three of my six tattoos are music related.  I can't even count all the concerts I've been to. Is there such a thing as a music intervention?

2. I literally live in the middle of nowhere. Our road is the last to be plowed in the whole county. We live an hour from the nearest mall. I've never been much of a country girl, so at times it gets pretty lonely. A lot of times it's just me and the two dogs and they're not much for conversation.

3. I was bullied as a kid for having protruding ears (called "Dumbo" etc) so my parents decided I should have plastic surgery when I was only 8. Having older girls corner me in the bathroom and make fun of me when I was in second grade is one of the clearest memories from my childhood. Because of this, I'm totally like some kind of bully police.

4. When it comes to books, I'm probably considered a borderline hoarder. For over a decade at my house there were books in random closets, under beds and even in the laundry room. I just recently sorted through them and bought an actual bookshelf. I dream of having an actual library one day with a comfortable lounging chair...my family would probably never see me again.

5. I'm a serious dog lover - big, small, it doesn't matter. But cats really freak me out. I swear they have this sixth sense about it, too. When I go over to a friend's house, their cats will either stare at me or come brush up against me. There was even a cat that was obsessed with my ponytail and wouldn't leave it alone. I was pretty traumatized after that.

6. My husband owns a Harley, although we don't get to ride it as often as we would like. Still, I think I make for a really awkward Harley momma and a lot of people do a double-take when they see me on back of the bike. But I've actually come up with some great story ideas while riding on the back of it, so I love it even more!

7. While I'm the shortest of three children at almost 6' and my husband is 6'2", both of our children are pretty short for their ages. I blame the synthetic hormones in the milk.

8. Whenever we go on vacation, I buy a paperback or hardcover book months ahead of time and put it in my suitcase. It takes a lot of self-control not to read it before we leave, but having the opportunity to read a good book from cover to cover is the mark of an excellent vacation.

9. Even though I'm terrified of heights (I once had a panic attack at the top of the Empire State Building), I love roller coasters. Sadly, my stomach seems less tolerable of them the older I get.

10. I'm really freaky about keeping my books in perfect condition. If I loan one out (which is pretty rare), it's only with the promise that they will not crease the spine. Don't even get me started on a messed up spine!

11. I've been to the Disney parks close to a dozen times in my lifetime, but The Wizarding World of Harry Potter only once. It's my goal to visit TWWHP more times than Disney. I should probably just get a job there.

Questions from My Nominator:


1. What got you into blogging? I always have so much to say and there's not enough room on Twitter. The blogging community is a total blast and it's fun to support my fellow authors.

2. Favorite TV show and why? Hands down, that would have to be The Walking Dead. It's such an original show with excellent writing that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Sometimes it's like a really good soap opera, only with excellent acting. And zombies.

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? I definitely like anything paranormal, whether reading or writing. In my books you'll always find some level of a love story, too. No matter how hard I try to keep platonic relationships between my characters, the little buggars always end up having a crush and can't seem to keep their hormones in check.

4. What were you like as a teenager? Up through my junior year, I was pretty decent. I stayed out of trouble for the most part and got decent grades. I had so many different friends that arranging my weekends and slumber parties was a nightmare (not everyone got along). My senior year, however, I discovered alcohol and got pretty wild. I think I was still a good daughter...for the most part.

5. Paperbacks or e-books and why? I still use both. I totally love the convenience of my kindle when at home or when on vacation. And it's nice that I don't have all these physical books to have to find a home for. But there will never be anything as awesome as opening a brand new book and feeling it in your hands - I even love the smell of them. I still collect the hard copies written by my favorite authors.

6. Do you have a funny vacation story? I have lots. But last time we were in Cabo, my husband somehow talked me into zip lining (there may have been alcohol involved at the time we signed up). For the most part, it was actually a lot of fun. The view was breathtaking and we got to see the rugged part of Mexico. The guides taught us how to slow down and break by pulling on the cable. At one point, I got a little freaked out by how fast I was going and basically braked right in the middle of a line. This skinny little kid had to come rescue me by wrapping his legs around my waist and pulling me back with our faces only inches apart. At the time I was mortified, but later on agreed that it was pretty funny.

7. Have you ever been out of the country and where did you go? I've been to many different places in Mexico (Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Cabo), the Virgin Islands, Jamaica and Canada. But none of those places will ever beat Hawaii.

8. Book you’re most looking forward to reading this year? The second book in Jolene Perry's Insight series called Manipulation. That woman really knows how to write a good story and I was so excited that she delved into the paranormal genre!

9. Biggest turn off in a book? A really complicated world, especially one that's really political in nature. So many dystopian books are like that. It's one of the reasons I wrote Shymers - I just wanted an interesting futuristic story that was focused more on the people in it.

10. What are you doing when you’re not reading or writing? Getting paid to take pictures, hanging out with my siblings and parents, going out with friends, catching a movie or a concert. But really there's not a lot of time for that stuff because we're just trying to follow the madness of our children's lives. Seriously - we have dance (2x/week), tae kwon do (2x week), basketball (both kids play), confirmation and occasional wrestling. This has been a crazy year. The only thing keeping me going is my husband's promise that we will winter somewhere warm as soon as these last two kids graduate!

11. Favorite holiday and why? It's always been the Fourth of July. My family always gets together at our lake home and we usually have a seafood boil with lots of beer and lots of boating. My husband and I were even married on the Fourth of July, with professional fireworks and everything! The bonus to this is that my husband won't ever forget our anniversary.


My Nominees:

Sarah, Chelsea, Anissa, Megan - Forever YA Fiction
Emma Meade - Emma's Ramblings on Supernatural Fiction
Crystal D Spears - Lives and Breathes Books
Deanna Lynn Sletten - Deanna Lynn Sletten, Author
Danielle Sibarium - For Always
Kelly Valentine - It's All Relative
Maria Monteiro - Writing, Reading & Dancing
Amber, Satin, Sarah & Shannon - The Mortal Institute
Sabrina - Sabrina's Library
London Cole - London Cole (YA and NA paranormal author)
Erika Stroup - Moonlight Book Reviews

My Questions for Nominees:

1. If you could live the life of any character in a book, who would that be and why?

2. What do you like to do to relax?

3. What's your favorite vacation memory?

4. Do you have any strange quirks?

5. What are some of your favorite movies?

6. What do you and your best friend like to do together?

7. If you could see anyone in concert, alive or dead, who would that be?

8. Favorite childhood memory?

9. Is there any book in particular that's really had some kind of impact on your life? How so?

10. You just won the lottery. What would you do with the money?

11. What do you enjoy most about blogging?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Nice getting to know you better! :)

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