Awards: Three of a different kind

It’s awards time again. I know they’re not for everyone, but I can see the benefits. They give you a chance to find out about the people who you regularly read, give you a chance to thank them and sometimes find other cool bloggers through them. There’s no pressure for any of them to accept though, but hopefully they’ll still see it as a compliment.

The Blog Tour Award

Thank you kindly to Emma K Wall for this award. I hadn’t heard of it before, but is certainly very different and I am very happy to accept. Emma is great. She has a funny, really easy-going writing style and her comments sections are always worth reading too. You really should check her out. I did start drafting this post on a Monday so I think I’m ok 😉

So, the rules are:

1. Compose a one-time post on a specific Monday
2. Pass the tour on to up to four other bloggers
3. Give them the rules and a specific Monday to post by
4. Answer four questions about your creative process which lets other bloggers and visitors know what inspires to do what you do!

Passing the award onto…

Inside the Life of Moi

Little Write Lies

M.C. Dulac

The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgementally

The Questions:

What are you working on at the moment?

There was a while when I couldn’t update my blog too much, so have been keen to catch up on my blog, as well as reading that of others. I’m also keen to work on my novel. After that I want to edit my short stories.

How does your work differ from others in your genre?

I am very reflective in my work, but I do have a strong sense of humour that hopefully gives it a nice balance. I have a lot of influences from things that go way beyond writing which I like to think gives my writing an added edge.

Why do you write or create what you do?

I started off with short stories as I love the economy of writing it demands, and the fact it rewards imagination. You don’t have to worry about what happens before or after, but can keep things to a specific moment and concentrate on how your characters react to a specific situation. I discovered I liked it and others responded to it so had the confidence to try other genres and styles. I feel I have a lot to say and in a way in no one else will say it. I talked about the whole writing process in a previous post.

How does your writing/creative process work?

I have an idea in my head. I play around with the basics so by the time I get something down I have an understanding of what I want the piece to achieve. Poetry and short stories I will write by hand but longer forms always on computers.I’ll always have music on in the background, but will be of a mood fitting to the tone of the piece.

Dragon’s Loyalty Award

My thanks to the very awesome Vinnie who deservedly has a fantastic following and a bucketloads of awards. If he was ever in even the slightest doubt of popularity, his short break from blogging led to people begging him not to take too long away. Pretty sure I was one of them!

So, what are the rules?

1; Show the award on your blog

2; Thank the person who nominated you

3;  Share seven facts about yourself

4; Nominate 15 blogs

5; Link the nominees’ blogs and let them know

7 Things

1. I stay away from autobiographies, but I really do like biographies, especially sporting ones. It’s not a genre I see mentioned on here much, but some of the most insightful and thought-provoking books I’ve read have been on sporting people and events from times gone by.

2. The 80s is my favourite musical decade. I’ve been lucky enough to see some of the groups live who are still going strong, including U2, Duran Duran and Depeche Mode.

3. I have four pairs of Converse Chucks; red, purple, black and blue.

4. My mind really does wander sometimes. If I was a Mr Men character I’d be Mr Daydream.

5. My favourite character from the Harry Potter series is Remus Lupin.

6. I don’t play video games so much any more, but growing up car games and beat ’em ups were my favourites. I think it would be cool to go to a fancy dress party as Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.

7. I’ve read all of Roald Dahl’s stories, including his short stories. He was one of the major reasons I got into reading so early. In later life I’ve also seen his TV show adaptations.

I know I’m supposed to put more up, but I’m keen to keep the numbers low to focus on those I’ve not nominated before.

The Literary Sisters

Cindy Bruchman

Laura Macky

Dune Mouse

IPC

Movierob

When Women Inspire

Emma K Wall

Versatile Blogger Award

7 facts about me as part of the award

1. As well as the short story collection The Ladies of Grace Adieu, I am also reading The Nowhere Men. It is about the world of football scouts and it’s fantastic stuff so far.

2. I used to love watching Football Italia. Before the Premier League really swung into action, the best players like Batistuta, van Basten, Gullit, Baggio and Baresi used to play there. I was lucky enough to recently meet the presenter James Richardson at a football conference, who was wonderful company.

3. I always let my hair grow too long before I cut it.

4. Meeting my footballing hero Anders Limpar when I was 12 was my favourite sporting moment growing up.

5. I really hate ticking clocks!

6. When I was growing up I wanted to be either a photographer or sporting journalist.

7. The best film I’ve seen at the cinema this year is Nightcrawler.

I’ll keep these nominations to 7 too for the same reason as before

Anastasia

By Hook or by Book

Vinnie H

Returns to the 80s

Derrick J Knight

The Creative Fox Den

First Night Design