New Blog Awards

My blogging buddy Michael Abayomi (whose blog, if you haven’t checked it out before, it really amazing – check it out here) has gifted me with the 7x7 Link Award. Thanks so much Michael! It always feels so wonderful to receive an award from a blogger you respect and whose blog you enjoy reading. The rules for this award state that I need to list (and link) existing blog posts I’ve written that fall into the following seven categories. So here goes:

Most Beautiful Piece

Missed Connections and Love Letters 

Most Helpful Piece

A Guide to Recognizing Your Apocalypses 

Most Popular Piece

F is for Fifth Element and Firefly: Favorites of Sci-Fi 

Most Controversial Piece

Pirates vs. Ninjas

Most Surprisingly Successful Piece

Zombies vs. Vampires vs. Werewolves 

Most Underrated Piece

The Minority Report Dilemma 

Most Pride-Worthy Piece

Of everything I've written on my blog, I take the greatest pride in my Sci-Fi from A to Z series (part of the Blogging from A Through Z Challenge hosted this past April). Many of those 26 pieces focused not only on science fiction books, movies and television shows, but on the serious questions the genre poses. Particularly, what does it mean to be human? Because so many of them were written as part of a series, I'm having a hard time picking which one in particular I find the most pride worthy. I hope you'll forgive me for picking three . . .

D is for Deckard, Do Androids Dream?, and Philip K. Dick 

I is for Ishiguro and The Island 

M is for The Metamorphosis 

I hope you enjoy these posts! And here are a few blogs I’d like to pass this award on to:

Julie Tuovi at From Pen to Paper

Mina Burrows

Andrew Leon at Strange Pegs

Rusty Webb at The Blutonian Death Egg

Joshua at Vive Le Nerd

The Geek Twins 

Danielle B. at Entertaining Interests

Kaye Draper at Write Me

And a special thanks to Kaye Draper for also awarding me with another Liebster Award!

Hollywood, Harry Potter and an Award

Last weekend I took a much needed vacation and went to see my amazing friend Julie in California (she callously moved away a few months ago, but I’ve since forgiven her enough to come visit). She planned all sorts of amazing activities, including a viewing of her wonderful superhero themed play – where she amazed me by using one of the superhero alter egos I created for my current manuscript for her own villainess character – a trip to the most delicious bakery I’ve ever been to, a tour of the Kodak Theater, and best of all, we went to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to check out famous celebrity handprints!

It was amazing. We ran around ooh-ing and ahh-ing over Hollywood’s finest. Of course I was thrilled when I came across Star Wars and got to check out the “footprints” of C3PO, R2D2 and one of the best villains of all time, Darth Vadar! Sadly Julie is not a Star Wars fan (something her husband and I are doing our best to rectify), but we BOTH squealed like little girls when we found the Harry Potter crew. Not to sound like a total fan girl, but it was a serious highlight. And for the record, whoever decided that along with their hand and footprints, the three Harry Potter stars would also make impressions of their wands was genius. I may be in my twenties, but I haven’t lost my childish enthusiasm for things like that. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I wasn't going to leave without getting a picture. Check them out:

 Not the best picture I've ever taken, but here's R2, C3PO and Darth Vadar.

Harry Potter hands, feet, and wands!!!

Yup, I did it. I took one of these ridiculous tourist pictures. And I'm not ashamed. 

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I’d also like to thank Cassie Mae for presenting me with the Smart Cookie Blog Award. It was such a – haha – treat! I’m not sure what the rules are for passing it along, so I’m just going to award it to a two of my favorite new blogging buddies from the A through Z challenge, Andrew Leon from Strange Pegs and Michael Abayomi. Thanks for your amazing posts guys!

A New Blog Award!

Megan over at Paws, Fangs and Smiles has awarded me with the Kreativ Blog Award!

Thanks Megan! So, as per the rules of the award, here are seven "interesting" things about me . . . I'll try not to repeat any I've said before:

1. I'm currently reading novels by "classic" science fiction writers (Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, George Orwell, Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, Arthur C. Clark, Aldous Huxley, etc). 

2. I read all six of Jane Austen's novels once a year. I get something from them different every time.

3. As a child I was traumatized by The Fox and the Hound, Dumbo and Bambi. This trauma has carried over into adulthood. I don't watch movies about animals. Ever. 

4. I love Ridley Scott and James Cameron films. I re-watched Alien and Aliens last weekend in preparation for the upcoming release of Prometheus. I could not be more excited. 

5. One day I will own a castle. Inside there will be a zip line, a ball pit room, a trampoline room with Velcro walls to stick to, a library modeled after the one in Beauty and the Beast, and several Mini Coopers to race through the halls (like in The Italian Job). There will also be a moat. And a helipad. And possible a catapult.

6. I have an intense fascination with superheroes and villains. I cannot wait for all the comic book movies coming out this year (The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises, and Superman: Man of Steel). 

7. I own Converse in three colors - black, red and blue. I'm currently on the lookout for green ones. For St. Patrick's Day. 

Here are the ten blogs I'm passing this award on to. I have no idea what the parameters for awarding blogs with this award are (other than I guess they're creative?), so I'm just going to award blogs I enjoy with fun posts. Check them out!

Kate Scott Writes
Colin D. Smith
Lover Dove Writes
My Pet Blog
Peggy Eddleman
The Walrus Room 
Vive Le Nerd 
Widdershins and Skeleton Keys 
Losing Sanity
Fulfilling Dreams  

More Blog Awards!

Okay, so once again I’ve been very bad when it comes to blog awards. First, I received an award and then got so busy with the agent edits for my manuscript that I forget to write a post about it. And to make matters worse, I received an award I somehow overlooked. This just goes to show what editing will do to an already deteriorating brain. I’ve officially become a Writer-Zombie.

For those who aren’t aware of this condition:

Writer-Zombie (n.) –

A writer who has died from excessive editing, but, in order to finish their manuscript on deadline, has come back to life as a reanimated corpse. The cognizant part of their brains are dead, but their gross motor skills continue to function (aka. their brains are in a mindless state but their hands keep typing). Do Not Feed the writer-zombies.

Anyways, here is my BELATED blog award post.

Annalisa Crawford at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep has given me The Versatile Blog Award! The rules state that I’m supposed to tell you seven things about myself and then award fifteen other bloggers. So here goes:

1. I’m a soccer fanatic. I support the Houston Dynamo and Manchester City F.C., and currently play on five soccer teams. It used to be seven, but I’m trying to cut back.

2. I’m phobic about blood (aka. Hemophobia), but I love vampire and zombie movies. Which basically means I can only watch about half the movie and have to cover my eyes for the rest.

3. I’m both a nerd and a jock. Or is it jockess for girls? Do girls have to add an –ess? Screw that, jockess sounds dumb. I’m going with jock. I’m a nerd-jock. Nock? Jerd? Whatever.

4. I love nonsense writing, but the English major in me constantly tried to make sense of it. If there’s hidden meaning in The Walrus and the Carpenter, I’ll find it.

5. I own multiple copies of Persuasion (Jane Austen), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (C. S. Lewis), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), and The Grimm’s Fairy Tales. They’re all different and yes, I need them all.

6. I love research. The best part of starting a new story is researching it. I’m in the research phase of my new, dystopian novel and have a list of thirty-seven books to read first. I’m looking forward to it.

7. I always name at least one character in every story after one of my literary heroes.


And here are the blogs I think deserve this award . . .

1. Barbara Kloss

2. Kris Atkins

3. Draven Ames

4. Christa

5. Christine Rains 
6. Peggy Eddleman 
7. Lynda R. Young 
8. An Alleged Author
9. Suz Korb
10. Brenda Drake 
11. J
12. Melanie Stanford 
13. E. L. Schneider
14. Kate Scott
15. Mina Burrows

The next award I received was the Lovely Blog Award from Kris Atkins at In Other Words. I’m very excited to receive this award, though it took me a month to realize someone had given it to me. Sigh. Anyways, I’m supposed to award fifteen more people who I think deserve this blog, and they are:

1. Julie Tuovi 

2. Cristina Dossantos 
3. Sommer Leigh
4. Susan Kaye Quinn
5. Tim Brannan
6. iZombie
7. Michelle Chaston
8. Kristan, Sarah, Ingrid and Stephanie
9. Nisa 
10. Tracey Neithercott
11. Skye 
12. Tabitha 
13. Rachael Harrie 
14. Annalisa Crawford
15. M. S. Tucker 

And last but not least, Annalisa Crawford ALSO gave me the Liebster Blog award! This is my second Liebster Award, and I’m soooo excited that two different blogging friends thought I deserved it! Here’s a link to my other Liebster Blog Award post. So, here are the five blogs with less than 200 followers I think deserve this award as well . . .

1. Jillian

2. Cynthia Lee 
3. Megan 
4. Rebecca Mahoney 
5. Ian Hiatt 

Whew. I think that’s everyone. And thank you once again to Kris Atkins and Annalisa Crawford for their wonderful support and recognition! If you haven’t already checked out their blogs, you really should! 

Blog Awards

I've been a very bad blogging buddy. WEEKS ago my friend Julie gave me a blog award (Thanks Jules!!!) and I was so caught up with editing I never got around to following up. Terrible! But I’m now prepared to make amends.

For anyone who hasn’t seen Julie’s blog From Pen to Paper, go check it out immediately! She's amazing. Her blog is HILARIOUS and her manuscript even better (I know because she’s let me read the whole thing from start to finish – jealous?). She’s also a stupendous editor and frequently hears the voices of my characters just as clearly as I do. I’d like to think several of our characters would get along great . . . wink wink.

From what I understand, this award is in German ("Liebster" apparently means "dearest," and is a term for close friends), and is given to awesome bloggers with 200 followers or less. Now the Rules!

1) Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you

2) Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog

3) Copy and paste the award on your blog

4) Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers!

5) Last, but far from least, HAPPY BLOGGING!

My five AMAZING blog picks are:

1. Julie Tuovi – I’m not sure what the etiquette is involving re-awarding your awarder, but I’m doing it anyways. Julie is an INCREDIBLE writer (her blog has me cracking up on a daily basis), as I’ve already mentioned, and a terrific friend. Her novel is soon-to-be-snapped-up by an agent and her liberty-loving characters are a joy to read. Thanks Julie for ALL your support and for entertaining me endlessly with your writing!

2. Terry – my writing adopt-o-mom, Terry writes an tremendous blog called Texas Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives where she chronicles her adventures across the state seeking out hole-in-the-wall Texas cuisine. Every time I read her blog my stomach starts to rumble! Though she doesn’t post often (because she’s so busy writing and editing her awesome manuscript Saving Gracie), her posts are not to be missed!

3. Mel Fowler – one of my new blogging friends, Mel’s blog Adventure Writes is tons of fun! She loves ninjas (who doesn’t?) and, like my friends from my writing critique group and I, faces the never-ending struggle with adverbs in her writing. Her story Daughters of the Sky sounds incredible and I love reading and supporting fellow YA writers!

4. Linda – I’m new to her blog Wistfully Linda but have already found it terrifically informative! She posts all kinds of neat writing links which have made me feel tremendously better about my own writing (thanks Linda!) and has a lot of helpful tips for struggling writers. Not to mention her writing pet peeves are remarkably similar to my own. Thanks for posting Linda!!

5. Candy Lynn Fite – one of my new blogging buddies I acquired through Rachael Harrie’s Flash Fiction contest, Candy told me my story had a “true Narnia feel to it”, forever earning her a place in my writers’ heart! Her work in progress title Between You, Me and a Cupcake had me howling with laughter and her contest story was delightfully creepy and zombie-esque! I can’t wait to hear more from her!

Hope I didn’t overwhelm anyone with my use of adjectives, but these writers really are exceptional. So check out these awesome writers and enjoy!