Versatile Blogger Award

Another award!

Thank you so much to Alana Terry and Kate Frost , both of whom presented me with this lovely spring-y looking badge.

According to the rules I must –

1. Thank and link to the person who gave me the award.
2. Tell seven facts about myself.
3. Pass it on to seven other bloggers.
4. Link to specific posts on their blogs to they’ll be notified by pingback.*

Honestly, I’ve gotten a few awards now, and there’s just about nothing interesting left, so here’s a list that can only be described as “random”.

1. I broke into a Welsh castle when the guard was off to lunch.

Photo by Elisabeth Whipple

2. This past Thursday the appliance-repair guy recited one of his poems to me. It involved a girl with green eyes and a bikini and was actually quite adorable.

3. Some people use socks to make puppets, I used one as toilet paper. It was in Russia, there was no T.P., and I”d forgotten my packet of tissues.

4. I dislike pie crust.

5. Generally speaking, I’d rather be cold than hot.

6. I have a cure for hiccups that doesn’t involve water or holding your breath.

7. My favorite Spongebob character is Plankton.

Alright, so now I will nominate 7 people, to play only if they really want to. Otherwise, just consider it a shout-out to your awesomeness.

1. Kate Michael, because she’s a wicked fabulous friend, CP, and tweep.

2. Cassandra Griffin, who gave me an award not so long ago – right back at you, my lovely 🙂

3. Kelly Evans, because she missed Thursday’s Children last week, so now she has an “extra credit” assignment. Mwhahaha.

4. Liz Penney, ditto.

5. Louise Gornall, because anyone who has pink AND blue hair deserves some kind of award and this is all I’ve got.

6. Jessy Montgomery, as a graduation present. And because she doesn’t have enough going on. Ha.

7. EM Castellan, because if I don’t give her the award, Jessy M. will.

*Actually I’ll be notifying them by Twitter. Rules are made to be broken, right?

My Little Liebster

First, many thanks to the talented Emma Adams  , author of THE PUPPET SPELL, for presenting me with the

Technically it’s my second Liebster Award, but this is a new blog, so I think it’s okay to accept it. The Liebster is for blogs with fewer than 200 followers. The rules require me to answer 11 questions, nominate 11 more bloggers, and make up 11 questions for them to answer. Apparently someone likes the number eleven.

The Eleven Questions I was asked:

1. What inspired you to start writing? I read TWILIGHT. No offense to Stephenie Meyer, but the fact that it wasn’t the best book I’d ever read made me think I should give writing a try. Again. (I’d written half a book years earlier).

2. Which writers do you most admire? Jeanette Winterson, the Brontes, D. H. Lawrence, Daphne du Maurier, Anais Nin, Sara Gruen, Tracy Chevalier, Kathleen Kent, Norah Lofts, the Brothers Grimm. Far from an exhaustive list but I’m a bit strapped for time.

3. What are my all-time favorite books? Jamaica Inn, Rebecca, Sara Crewe, Little Women, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, The Scarlet Letter, The Rainbow, The Passion.I could go on and on. Different books at different times of my life, for different moods…

4. How do you like to spend your free time? Walking on the beach, or in the woods

5. What is your favorite movie? Urgh. Again, there are so many. The Village, Cider House Rules, Dr. Zhivago, Pulp Fiction, A Room with a View, anything with Johnny Depp…

6. Where would you love to travel to? There are many places I’d love to revisit, but for a first time trip I’d like to go to Budapest.

7. What is your favorite music to listen to when writing? I don’t actually listen while I’m writing, but I often listen before I start, to help me get in the right mood for a scene, or into a character’s head. This has meant listening to everything from Scottish bagpipe laments to Patsy Kline to Nine Inch Nails.

8. What are you reading now? Only my CPs’ stuff. Between that and my agent-requested revisions, I don’t have time for reading anything else. Unless you count the biography of Helen Keller I’m reading with my younger daughter for a school book project.

9. Give a random fact about yourself. My mother took me to services at Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish places of worship when I was a kid, with the idea that I would have a better idea which religion I wanted to follow, if any. I’m sure if there’d been any chance of taking me to a Muslim mosque or a Buddhist temple, we’d have gone there too.

10. What are your hopes for this year? A book deal!

11. What inspires you? Check out my Thursday’s Children blog hop posts. Could be anything from turtles to winter landscapes.

Here are my 11 Nominees:

1. Jennifer Lobeth who writes really cool things about rocks, and other stuff.

2. Missy Punk toon-afficiando, Paris-lover (moi aussi!), PitchWarrior extraordinaire. Ooo la la!

3. Michaele Stoughton – I knew we’d be friends when I saw the header on her Twitter profile pic (eerie!). Also she loves greyhounds and is a housework slacker. That’s my kind of tweep.

4. Nazarea Andrews one of the fabulous mentor-people I met during PitchWars

5. Sarah L. Blair who’s very witty, despite having an infant (no small accomplishment)

6. Lauren M. Barrett who appeared out of deep cyberspace to follow my new blog, ❤ mwah!

7. Elle LaMarca who loves deserted beach towns as much as I do

8. Rachel Russell whose blog is a treasure trove of medieval torture devices I can’t unsee…

9. Amanda Burckhard who loves dogs (she has a dachshund named Oscar) and all things chocolate. My people.

10. Sarah Guillory whose book is coming out THIS FALL!

11. Kirsti Jones veteran Thursday’s Children blog hopper and fellow lighthouse enthusiast

And finally here are my Eleven Questions:

1. What’s your writing goal for 2013?

2. If you could write like any author (living or dead) who would it be, and why?

3. What was your favorite book as a teen?

4. What would be the best thing about getting a book published?

5. Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Renaissance Italy. You have to go live in one. Pick one, and tell me why.

6. What’s the one thing that makes you decide not to finish reading a book you’ve started?

7. Tell me three things about the MC in the most recent book you’ve written.

8. What’s the single best thing about writing?

9. Sea shell, oak leaf, rock, pine cone, cactus. Pick one, and tell me why.

10. Do you hate or love editing/revising?

11. Scariest book. Ever. Why?

One Lovely Blog Award

I’ve just received a very special award from fellow writer EM Castellan – Thank you so much! 

You should go visit her blog, I had no idea she was an expert on all things Victor Hugo.

The Award

This award is, well, lovely, isn’t it? Suddenly I’m craving crumpets and Devonshire cream.

The rules of the award state that I must share 7 things about myself and pass the award on to 7 other bloggers.

My 7 Deadly Sins  7 Fascinating Facts about Me:

1. My first paying job was at a racehorse training stable. I mucked stalls, groomed horses, cleaned tack.

2. The most terrifying dream I ever had involved polar bears. Hungry, clever, polar bears.

3. I’ve met two members of the band U2. Does that mean I’ve met U1? I’m not sure.

4. The house in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where I lived for a number of years was haunted.

5. My husband and I got married on Halloween, in a park under a weeping willow tree. So, you can understand why I really had no problem with #4.

6. My imaginary childhood friends included a posse of tiny old men who wore vintage golfing attire. I have no idea why.

7. Rhiann is actually my middle name. I loathe my first name and therefore never use it, unless forced by medical offices and legal contracts.

Now that you know ALL about me, here are seven other people you should get to know, or know better. Some of them I’ve just met on Twitter and we’ve been chatting. Others I’ve known for a while.

1. Kristy Shen

2. Jolene Haley

3. Cassandra Page 

4. Stacey Lee

5. Katherine Amabel

6. Chris Allen-Riley

7. Colene Murphy

If your name is on the list and you don’t want to “play”, no worries.