When I saw that my writing buddy Meradeth Houston had nominated me for the Liebster Award, I had a rush of deja vu. Sure enough I went back in my archives and saw that I had been given this award before…by none other than Meradeth! (She must really like my blog. 🙂 ) But that was like a year and a half ago and the questions were different, so I’ll take another crack at it (although, I’ll admit I stole some of 11 facts from last time). And I have been retroactively nominated by Mary Waibel and J.Q. Rose, so make sure to check out Mary’s blog and J.Q.’s blog.
Here’s how the award works. The Liebster Blog Award translates to “the beloved” or “the dearest.” The award is given as a way to celebrate smaller blogs. (Only blogs with under 200 followers can be awarded.) Before you accept the award, there are a certain set of tasks you must complete. The first is to reveal 11 facts about you, answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you, and then create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer.
So my 11 facts are:
- My favorite Harry Potter book is Goblet of Fire.
- I used to be a puzzle magazine editor and now edit books.
- When I was three years old, I told everyone I was a boy because I wanted to play baseball for the New York Yankees.
- My elbows are double-jointed.
- I once pierced my own belly button.
- The last book I read is Jennifer A. Nielsen’s The Shadow Throne.
- I have really weird dreams all the time, some of them lucid.
- My favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh.
- I could eat pizza every day.
- I totally have a crush on Hook from Once Upon a Time.
- Many of the characters in Elixir Bound were based on real people (including myself!).
And here are the questions Meradeth asked me to answer:
1. What do you like best about your personality?
My stubbornness is both a blessing and a curse (it’s probably the main reason why I haven’t quit writing), but I have learned “not to cut off my nose to spite my face” (as my mother used to say I always did).
2. What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Dare to get excited, even when you might get let down. We could all get hit by a marshmallow truck tomorrow. ~Laurie Halse Anderson
3. What does it take for a book to stay with you long after reading it?
A book that manages to surprise me in some way.
4. If you could tell an author that you admire one thing, what would it be?
“I wish I had written that.”
5. Who is one person who always makes you happy?
The Boy…even when he makes me angry, sad, or so frustrated I want to punch something (not him!), he brings so much joy to my life it makes me happy.
6. What was the best birthday you ever had?
My 30th birthday was pretty perfect. My family and a few close friends took a boat ride through the Thimble Island in Long Island Sound that ended with the sunset. It was summer, the breeze was cool, good food and drinks, I had my favorite people with me, and I didn’t have to do a single thing other than enjoy myself.
7. What drives you to share your thoughts about books on social media?
I hope that by sharing books I enjoy, other people will find books they, too, enjoy.
8. What’s the best thing an author ever said to you?
Never give up because you might be on the one yard line, and you just don’t know it. ~Donna Gephart
9. What do you consider the ideal length for a book in terms of the number of pages?
No ideal number. Enough pages to tell the story that needs to be told.
10. What fictional character do you most resemble?
Well, I guess that would be the one in Elixir Bound that I based on myself. 🙂
11. If you could give the person reading this an uplifting message, what would it be?
“Find you magic!”
So now I must make my nominations…and I nominate you, dear reader. Any blogger out there who would like to participate, just leave a comment here and I’ll include a link to your blog here. You can just answer the same questions posed above.
I’ve got fabulous bloggers Christopher Mannino, Suzanne de Montigny, and Marie Laval to take up my offer of being nominated for the Liebster Award. And I’ll be happy to add any other bloggers who would like to play (instructions in the comments)…just let me know in the comments. 🙂
Okay, I am TOTALLY cracking up here. I should have looked back through my archives for when I last received this award! LOL! Anyhow, great answers, and I’m amazed that you managed to pierce your own belly-button! Ouch!! 🙂
I was cracking up, too, when I went back and looked! Happy to do it again. 🙂
As for the belly button, well, I was thirteen so I think that explains that.
Would like to participate. Thanks!
Cool, I’ll leave a comment with instructions for all those interested.
I think the New York Yankees missed a grand opportunity when you admitted eventually you are a girl. 🙂
Thanks, Mirka! I think so too. 😉
Me, me!
Yay! Check the comments below.
I so love the marshmallow truck! You are so right there, you never know what’s going to happen, it’s much better to enjoy every single moment. As for stubbornness, it’s a great quality I think all writers must have in vast quantities!I would really like to take part in your Liebster competition. Can you let me know what I have to do?
That’s a great quote! Laurie Halse Anderson is a fabulous writer and speaker, and just awesome in general. Check out the comment below for Liebster info.
What fun questions!I love hearing advice and inspiration for others.
They were fun to answer, Victoria! Thanks for stopping by.
Okay, Christopher, Suzanne, and Marie (and any other takers). All you need to do for the Liebster award is create a post similar to this one and post it on your blog. Make sure to say I nominated you and provide a link back to my blog, include a little about the award (feel free to just use the paragraph I included–which I borrowed right from Meradeth’s blog), post your 11 facts, then answer the same 11 questions I did, and then create 11 questions of you own and nominate fellow bloggers for the award.
Easy enough, right? Let me know if you have any questions. And thanks for participating. Oh, one more thing, I’ll need a link to your blog so I can add it at the end of this post. Suzanne and Christopher, you’re both all set with that b/c your names in the comment links to your pages, but I’ll need Marie to either post hers here or use the contact me page to send it to me.
Hello again Katie. Just a quick message to thank you for nominating me. My Liebster Blog Award post is up on my blog athttp://marielaval.blogspot.co.uk/ If there anything else I need to do, please let me know!
Hey, thanks for the link. Heather Fraser Brainerd nominated me and made it very simple–she didn’t follow the rules, did she? Roseanne Dowell nominated me a couple of years ago too with even different rules. It all evolves into an interesting entertaining post like yours, Katie. Love your answers–I must admit when I was in sixth grade I asked the coach if I could play baseball with the boys’ team (way before girls were even considered for Little League). He laughed so hard the cafeteria echoed with that sound. I wanted to sink in a hole and never come out. Stubborn is good. It’s a tough life with hard times and those who are “strong-willed” can handle it!
No problem, J.Q. It’s definitely a fun award and everyone has put their own little spin on it. Thanks for nominating me. I did end playing Little League for a few years, but turns out I enjoyed soccer much more than baseball. Still play soccer in fact. So glad the archaic notion of girls not being able to play sports is no longer so prevalent. Wish the coach had been more open-minded in you case.