The Sunshine Blogger Award

Thanks to Marian at JustMuddlingThroughLife for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. The Sunshine Blogger Award is an award given by bloggers in order to award their blogging peers.  Each blogger nominated is asked to nominate 11 other bloggers that they admire or are inspired by.  It’s an honour to be recognised, and a wonderful opportunity to encourage others to keep doing what they love.

Marian is a married working mum with two children.  She is writing her first book.

Rules
Thank the person who nominated you and provides a link back to their blog so others can find them.
Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you.
Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions.
Notify the nominees about it by commenting on one of their blog posts.
List the rules and (optional) display a Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post and/or your blog site.

Here are my answers to Marian’s questions:

What advice would you give to someone considering writing a blog?

I would say don’t publish too many blogs in one day and therefore overload readers.   Also I’d say it’s a good thing to leave comments on others’ blogs in order to build up some kind of rapport.

What are your hobbies other than blogging?

Reading, listening to music, walking along country footpaths around my village, and spending time with my family.

Who are your favourite authors?

Mark Edwards, Virginia Woolf, A.J Finn, Jack London, Emma Donoghue, Adam Kay and Bill Bryson, to name but a few.

What do you do to help you relax?

Walking as far and as fast as I can.  Also country dancing.  It’s a great way to forget all about the stresses of the day.

If you were an animal, what would you want to be and why?

Probably an old lady’s cat.  I’d be pampered for the rest of my days!

What is your favourite food?

Savoury and not sweet.  I’d say salmon, broccoli and new potatoes.

How long have you been blogging for?

About 6 years I think.

What is your favourite holiday destination?

I’ve been to many countries in my time, but now the only place I want to go to is our holiday home on the Isle of Wight.

Are you a cat or dog person?

Neither.  Animals make me itch and sneeze, and if I touch them my skin tends to come out in weals.

Marmite.  Do you love it or hate it?

Hate it.  I tried it once and only once.  It made my mouth and lips burn.  It’s disgusting.

Would you rather go forward or back in time, and why?

Back to the 1960s when I was a kid.  Oh to do it all over again, knowing what I know now!

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I nominate the following 11 bloggers who have all commented on my blogs at some time or another (some of them many times!) to answer the 11 questions below:

Miriam Hurdle

Ellen Hawley

Julie G

Kevin Cooper

Jessica Bakkers

Suzanne

Jim Webster

Robbie Cheadle

D.G Kaye

P.J MacLayne

Janice Spina 

1.  Do you think authors having many social media accounts is a good idea?
2.  Do you submit your work to agents, or are you happy staying self-published?
3.  Do you think authors should give away their work for free?
4.  If you have an email (mailing) list, how do you gain more followers for it?
5.  If you had to be confined to one social media account to promote your books, which one would it be?
6. Is book promotion worth it?  Do you gain sales by your promotion efforts, or is it all just a time suck?
7.  What’s the best part of a doughnut?  I would say it’s the hole in the middle, but I’d love to hear what you think.
8.  How would you go about ‘kissing the sky’ like Mr Hendrix did?
9.  Can you dance the Tango?
10.  What strange phenomena have you experienced?
11.  Do you want to live forever?

 

 

 

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The Sunshine Blogger Award – Nominated!

I’ve been nominated again!  Thanks to Darlene  Foster at https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/2019/03/02/the-sunshine-blogger-award/  for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger  Award.  The Sunshine Blogger Award is a peer appreciation award given to bloggers who are creative, positive, and inspiring, while spreading sunshine to the blogging community.

The Rules:

Thank the blogger who nominated you in a blog post and link back to their blog.

Answer the 11 questions sent to you by the person who nominated you.

Nominate up to 11 new blogs to receive the award, and then give them 11 new questions, or cheat and give them the same questions.

List the rules and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or your blog

Here are the questions I received and my answers:

What was the driving force behind the creation of your blog?

In the days before I knew any better, I thought I could create a blog just about my books.  I’d add excerpts, then advertise them for sale and watch the pounds roll in…

What was your vision for your future in blogging/writing when you first started this blog? How has that vision evolved?

Reality struck, and it occurred to me after about 3 years that nobody could give a rat’s ass about blogs containing blurbs and purchase links to my books, and so I decided I’d better write about things that people actually did want to read.

What age were you when you realized you loved writing?

 I can’t really remember.  I wrote little stories and poems and kept a diary from a very young age, maybe from about 7 or 8.  I won an inter-schools’ writing competition when I was 11, which my mum told me had happened to her too at about the same age.  The win spurred me on to write more.

How has your life changed as a result of the electronic age? Is it better/worse/the same?

Better I suppose.  There’s word processing programmes on our PCs, but no typewriters, Tippex and carbon paper anymore so it’s easier to correct a mistake.  It’s also easier to communicate via email instead of writing out letters in longhand and paying over-inflated prices to post them.  When Sam’s abroad on business we talk on Skype to save on the phone bills.

What was the very last website you visited today?

Darlene Foster’s: https://darlenefoster.wordpress.com/

If you could change one thing about your past, what would it be?How would your life be different today if that one thing from your past were to change?

Like Darlene, I’d love to have gone to university.  If I could have gained an English degree, I might have been able to become a journalist.

If you have children, tell me…how did your parenting change from the time you had your first child until the time you had your last?

There are 3 and a half years between my first son and his brother.  I was much more relaxed with the second baby and more sure of my parenting skills.  I don’t know if that’s why my youngest son is more laid back than his brother, or whether my eldest son was just naturally more hyper to begin with.

Tell me about the funniest experience you’ve had in the past month.

I saw this last month on a friend’s Facebook page, and it cracked me up.  It might not be to everybody’s taste, but hey, it made me laugh.

What do you have planned for the upcoming holiday season?

To spend as much time as I can at our holiday home on the Isle of Wight.

I nominate all the bloggers (apart from Darlene of course, who has already answered them) that took part in my ‘Share Your Short Story’ competition this month.  Thanks to all of you, and hopefully see  you all again in April:

H.L Carpenter: https://www.hlcarpenter.com/

Richard Dee: https://richarddeescifi.co.uk/

Julie G: https://storytellingdancer.com/

Phil Huston: https://philh52.wordpress.com

Shyamsree Lahiri: https://shoshinatplay.wordpress.com

Savu Makaar: https://betheflyinggirl.wordpress.com

Marisundays: https://unomaswriter.wordpress.com

Penjungi: https://millenialfiction479021743.wordpress.com/

Lisa Savitzky: https://lisasavitzky.com/

Gigi Sedlmayer: http://gigised.com

Abbie Johnson Taylor: http://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com

Thefpiaf: https://thefpiaf.wordpress.com

Jim Webster: https://tallissteelyard.wordpress.com

Writer in a Hat: https://writerinahat.com

 

 

 

 

The Sunshine Blogger Award

Thanks to Janet Gogerty at Times and Tides of a Beachwriter who nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award.  Below I’ve answered her questions, and nominated some bloggers who make me laugh with their posts and/or comments.  First of all …

Here’s what to do!

1- Give a big thank you to the person who nominated you so others can find them!

2-Answer the questions from the blogger who nominated you.

3-Nominate other bloggers and ask them your own set of questions!

4- Let the nominees know about the nomination in one of their posts (I’ve added their names in this one)!

5-List the rules and the Sunshine Award nomination on your own site.

6- Let the fun begin!

Janet’s questions and my answers are below:

1. If money and responsibilities were no problem where would you like to live and write?

In a house by the sea on the Isle of Wight. I already have a caravan there, but a house would be even better!

2. Many writers have pets draped over their keyboard or under their desk. If you could choose one creature to be your pet what would it be? You can opt for anything from a spider to an elephant.

None thanks. I’m not a pet person due to all the sneezing and itching that transpires whenever I’m near animals.

3. If you were invited to talk about your book on television or the radio which programme would you like to appear on?

I hardly ever watch television programmes, only documentaries and films, and only ever listen to Radio 2 News I’m afraid. However, maybe The One Show would be a good one to appear on. It’s prime time evening viewing. I’ve watched it a few times and it isn’t too serious or highbrow.

4. Which famous person would you be thrilled to have following your blog?

Stephen King.

5. You have decided to go on an adventurous expedition to achieve fantastic sales for your book. Where would you go?

I’m not in the least bit adventurous. I think I’d have a book signing event in Foyle’s bookshop in London’s West End and hope for the best!

6. Number five didn’t work so you must fake your own death to boost sales, what sort of demise would you choose?

An injection of Propofol, but not too much if death is not the end result. Good gear that; I’ve had 2 root canals/crowns done this way – a lovely sleep and no after effects!

7. You have been invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. You are most excited because A. You will meet the Queen. B. A loved one accompanying you deserves a day out. C. You like cake. D. You like looking round other people’s gardens. E. It will make a good topic for your blog. F. Excellent research for you novel.

Meeting the Queen. I’ve been to Buckingham Palace before, but she was out.

8. Research is hard work so you decide to use a time machine for your historical or futuristic novel. Which time will you travel to?

Victorian times. I’m always interested in that era.

9. Number six went drastically wrong. Who did you leave your manuscripts and intellectual property to in your will?

The agent who was the most vociferous in their condemnation of them.  I always like the last laugh!

I’m going to nominate 3 guys and 3 girls whose blogs/comments make me laugh.  Here they are in alphabetical order:

Clive at ‘Take it Easy’ https://cliveblogs.wordpress.com/

Sally Cronin https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/

Debby Gies https://dgkayewriter.com/

Phil Huston https://philh52.wordpress.com/

Tara Sparling https://tarasparlingwrites.com/

Jim Webster https://jandbvwebster.wordpress.com/

Here’s my questions for them to answer:

Do you think there’s life on other planets?

What’s one advantage of growing older?

What would you do if faced with a tray of 12 chocolate doughnuts?

Have you ever stayed in a haunted house?

Could you survive on a windswept moor in mid-winter with only 3 things in your rucksack and no mobile phone signal? What 3 things would your rucksack contain?

Where would you like to do a book signing event?

Can you think of one word that describes your life?

What would you do with a million pound/dollar/euro jackpot win?

Can you dance the Tango?

 

 

Sunshine Blogger Award Nomination

Thanks to Janet Gogerty for nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Answers to her questions and my own nominations will be forthcoming!

Times and Tides of a Beachwriter

Thanks to Cheryl of The Cornucopia Allotment for nominating me. Here are my answers to Cheryl’s ten questions, followed by bloggers I have nominated and questions I have chosen.

https://thecornucopiaallotment.wordpress.com/home-page/

1.What is your favourite Flower?   Very hard to decide as I love so many, but perhaps the humble nasturtium, relative of the cabbage; their simple citrus colour flowers zing even on a grey day. I scatter seeds and when other flowers are past their best they pop up.

2- What landscape instils calm on a chaotic day?  The sea or a high hill looking down, what may be noisy below is reduced to a pleasant hum or complete silence.

3- What is your strongest practical skill?   Probably anything to do with needles.

4- What is your favourite craft?   Knitting and crochet, they are relaxing sharing with friends or watching television, but I would love to be able…

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