They like me, they really like me…

First, I’d like to thank the Academy…

Okay, seriously.  I had no idea how this award thing worked and consequently I missed one awhile back.  But not this time – this time I am standing proudly at the podium, graciously accepting my nomination for the Liebster Blog Award.  The award is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Liebster is a German word meaning: sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome.

Now, to make sure I behave as a good nominee, I must follow these rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who presented you with the award. Add the award logo to your blog.
2. Answer the eleven questions posted for the nominees.
3. Share eleven random facts about yourself.
4. Write eleven questions for your nominees and then…
5. Nominate eleven worthy blogs and contact those bloggers so they know about it! (No tag backs.)

A hearty shout of thanks goes to Ms. Ellie Mack and Ms. Toledo Boogz, fellow authors, bloggers, and kindred spirits, for nominating me for such a prestigious award. (rule #1, check)

As part of my acceptance, here’s a bit about me you may not know  (Since I was nominated by two people, I’ve chosen questions from each of their lists.  So, rule #2, check-a-rooney) –

1.  What genres do you read and write?  Why?

My favorite genre to read is horror.  I am a life-long Stephen King fan; but have enjoyed ghost stories by Edgar Allen Poe, Richard Matheson, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, H.P. Lovecraft…just to name a few.   Next favorite genre to read is paranormal / fantasy – I’m not sure what they’re calling it these days but basically it’s the genre in which Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison and Jim Butcher dominate.  Love them.  I think I’m drawn to the scary stuff because I’ve always had a bit of the dark in me.  I enjoy the thrill of being afraid for some weird reason – more so now than when I was younger but still, I’ve been reading horror since I was in the sixth grade.

What’s funny though, is that I write what’s considered a form of Chick-Lit.  I just knew when I sat down to write seriously, I’d be churning out novels full of monsters and bloodshed.  Yeah…not so much.  Instead, all of my work is based on my life experiences.  I write about women who go through some pretty trying times only to emerge more fully themselves and of course,  in most cases, find some really great guy to be in love with.  I’m calling it Transformative Fiction for Women.  (yes, I’ve made up a genre).   I write these stories as love letters to myself really.  I use them to remind myself that no matter what I’ve been through, I’m really a wonderful, worthy human being.  I hope that anyone, particularly any woman whose suffered low self-esteem or been victimized in any way, who reads my work will come away with the tools they need to feel better about themselves.  If my characters can do it, then so can they.

2.  Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, or Stevie Ray Vaughan? Briefly explain your choice.

Stevie Ray Vaughan – he is the more bluesy, jazzy  of the three from my limited listening experience and I really enjoyed his style.  Jimi, extremely talented, but freaked me out with the guitar solos as a kid.

3.  Is there a writer that inspires you, perhaps got you interested in writing in the first place?

I can’t blame any one particular writer for my interest in writing because I believe (to borrow a Lady Ga Ga lyric) I was born this way.  I can’t remember a time since I learned what writing was that I haven’t not been writing.  I will say that my mom is an avid reader and was known to toss down a line or two back in the day.  I heard Dr. Maya Angelou speak once when I was a little kid and she certainly made words come alive for me.

4.  If you could talk to any three people dead or alive who would they be?

That’s a tough one.  Dr. Angelou of course, Patti LaBelle (maybe); I’d love to spend time getting to know my grandfathers as both of them were long deceased by the time I was born; um…my great grandmothers must have been pretty amazing people, wouldn’t mind asking them how they managed to make it through some of the drama I’ve heard in the family stories.  See, that’s way more than three already and I’m still coming up with people.  Okay, okay, just three:

1. Dr. Angelou
2. The man the Bible refers to as Jesus or better yet, the first author of the first Bible
3. Shakespeare or Edgar Allen Poe

5.  If given the choice would you be a Ninja, Samurai, or Shaolin Monk? Briefly explain why..

Shaolin Monk all day.  Some mythology claims that the Shaolin are more powerful than the Ninja and have mastered much more than stealth and all those cool killing techniques.  They have the coolest mountain keeps (or monasteries I guess) and since my hair loss has already given me the Shaolin middle of the head, hair-line, I already fit right in. (Picture Choa Yun Fat in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and you have a general idea).

6.  Who is your favorite author?

Another tough question.  My automatic response is Stephen King, but Jim Butcher, Kim Harrison, and Charlaine Harris run close seconds depending on the mood I’m in.

7.  If your book were made into a movie, who would play your main character?

I’m working on a manuscript now that I wrote with the actress Erica Alexander in mind.  Folks used to say she and I favored each other and somehow, I think she could pull off the mix of tough vulnerability I see in the main character in this story.

8.  Where do you see yourself in five years?

Given the opportunity, I see myself globe-trotting – giving writing workshops hither and yon, working on my internet television show which will be in its third or fourth season; I will be in my third or fourth year of a wonderful relationship with a guy I met while on my first trip to England.  I’ll be relatively debt free with a decent credit rating for a change, money in savings and checking (LOL), and just plain content with all the craziness making up my writing career.

9.  What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?

Hmmmm.  Strangest thing I’ve knowingly eaten would be postage stamps.  Yeah, I was that kid.

10.  Paper books or eBooks? Discuss?

Until holding my Kindle produces the same excitement as holding an actual paper book, I’ll be buying my fav fiction in print form.  My non-fiction however, will be forever kept in ebook format.  Cost and ease of mobility make the ebook format ideal for reference materials and books my mom thinks I should read ;-).

11.  If you had to turn off your cell phone for a week each month to save humanity, would you be: A) A couple bill is too many damn people anyway! B) I guess I’ll have to rearrange my calling schedule. C) For humankind, I turn off my iPhone! D) Send a mass text that says: Bye bitches!

OMG – would welcome the excuse of being able to turn my phone off for a freakin’ week and not have folks thinking I’m purposefully ignoring them.  You should hear the whining sometimes.  So the answer is C (even though I don’t do the iPhone).

(Rule #3…hmmmm, what to reveal)

1. I hate my first name.  And no, it’s not Dana.
2. I’m almost bald across the front of my head.
3. I weighed 198 pounds at the beginning of 2011.
4. I’ve lost my taste for most food and now eat what I eat based on the memory of how things used to taste.
5. I know how to drive a stick shift.
6. I have five piercings and two tattoos
7. I’ve received five marriage proposals in my lifetime.
8. I can leg press 225 pounds for 3 sets of 12 reps.
9. I don’t like peas.
10. I get nauseous on play ground swings now
11. The word bunion makes me giggle.   (there you go, rule number 3, check)

My eleven questions to my nominees are:

1. What’s your all time favorite book?
2. How often do you read for pleasure?
3. When was the last time you laughed out loud?
4. How do you spell love?
5. What would you most like to be remembered for?
6. What’s the first item on your bucket list?
7. Where’s the farthest from “home” you’ve ever been? (either where you grew up or from where you live now)
8. What’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever experienced?
9. Biggest fear?
10. What’s your all time favorite movie?
11. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

And finally, I nominate the following blogs (and my apologies if you have more than 200 followers and are there by ineligible to “win” this award, and for the fact that my list is a few short of 11.  I am still fairly new to the blogs and so far, don’t follow that many that have less than 200 followers…at least, as far as I know….how can you tell anyway?):

1. Zeinab Alayan             http://zenscribbles.wordpress.com/
2. Becka Macintosh        http://awrighton.wordpress.com
3. Suzanne Atkins          http://spilthotchocolate.wordpress.com/
4. Georgette Graham    http://georgettegraham.wordpress.com/
5. Ian Truman                http://iantruman.wordpress.com
6. Kristina Howells         http://kristinahowells.wordpress.com/
7. Naty Matos                 http://therisingmuse.com/