The Liebster Award

I am very honoured to have the opportunity to pass on a wonderful blog award recently given to me: The Liebster Award recognizes blogs that currently have fewer than 200 followers.  My blogs are gradually reaching a wider audience, which is encouraging, but could certainly use more exposure – anyone who writes knows it’s nice to be heard, and if it’s appreciated by others, all the better!  And if, like me, you invest time and care into the research that goes in to making a blog worth reading, it’s reward in itself to know that others enjoy it, and benefit from the investment of time and energy!  Awards are a way of honouring that hard work, as well as a reciprocal form of networking.  So here’s a nod to a few small blogs that are worth noticing.

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.

2. Answer the 10 questions given to you by the nominee before you.

3. You must nominate 10 blogs that interest you but have fewer than 200 followers and notify them of their nomination.

4. Pass on the ten questions for your nominees to answer (or come up with your own).

Thank you very much to Sarah Angleton over at thepracticalhistorian for nominating me!

Ten Questions:

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

Every summer holiday, I would find some way to earn money; one year I made a killing with fur-covered golf balls as “pet balls” (pet rocks were all the rage, and I added the golf balls to my stock):  My father worked in the police evidence department, and someone had robbed a fur coat store; rather than be caught with the evidence they had shredded the coats into small pieces.  We got a bag of the scraps (once they’d been released) and they were perfect for my pet scheme!  My first official job was in a Dunkin’ Donuts; the first week I worked there all I wanted to eat was Nacho chips to counter the sugary air I inhaled all morning…

WHY DID YOU START BLOGGING?

I started blogging because, as a writer, I had countless ideas and wanted an outlet, as well as a place to get the word out about my books.  To date I have five blogs, and I also run a forum fielding grammar/syntax/linguistic questions from (mainly) British writers, on a writers’ website called the Writer’s Workshop.

WHAT KIND OF FAMILY DID YOU GROW UP IN?

A typical middle-class Kansan family in Bible-belt America.  Think Superman, Ma & Pa Kent; those were my grandparents.

AS A CHILD, IS THIS WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU’D BE AT THIS AGE?

Nope!  I thought I’d be in Scotland (I emigrated there in 1988); and I would still be there if I hadn’t met my Swiss husband in a Scottish castle (where we were living at the time).

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO VISIT?

The Scottish Highlands!  Norway comes in at a close second.

IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

As soon as Star Trek beaming technology becomes reality I’d like to take my husband back to Hawaii with me (I was at school there in ’86), to visit old friends.

WHAT’S THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING YOU’VE EVER PURCHASED?

Officially, my husband purchased it:  Our home.

CAT OR DOG PERSON?

Definitely cat.  All three of ours would ignore a dog until it went away.  I love all animals, but I don’t have to take a cat on a walk in the rain at 3 a.m. to do its business… I can continue writing!

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIE?

Ooh, that’s a tough one.  It depends on my mood.  I have an extensive collection, and study them with a writer’s eye.  Science Fiction, CGI, Rom-Coms, Historical, Action / Adventure, as well as Documentary… you name it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE MUSIC?

At the moment, that would be a compilation of instrumental pieces from the Twilight Piano Series, and instrumental pieces from the various Twilight films.  It varies according to my mood, but I’ve listened to a lot less music since I started writing than ever before in my life!

 

I’d like to pass on this nomination to a few blogs that have caught my interest, but that don’t have a large following yet. A few are just getting launched, and others haven’t been found by their wider audience yet.  I decided to choose mainly historically- and archaeologically-focused sites:

1. Electric Puppet
2. Archaeotutor
3. Dave Weldrake:  Heritage Education
4. where in the hell am I
5. The Prelusive Cat
6. History and Archaeology Blog
7. The Feast Bowl
8. archaeologyntwales
9. Surgically Surreal
10. History Echoes

To my readers, enjoy perusing these little gems!  To the nominees, have fun exploring and being more exposed to the world of WordPress!  Just follow the white rabbit and see where it leads!