The worth of a prize: accepting the Liebster Award

Woke up to a surprise from writer and book coach Andrea Lundgren, who nominated Much Ado about Little Women to receive the Liebster Award. Much appreciated Andrea, what a great way to end the week!

For those who aren’t familiar with the Liebster, it is an award given by bloggers to fellow bloggers and from what I can work out, ultimately designed to help us encourage each other in our writing endeavors – a thing well worth the effort. The rules for the Liebster Award are as follows:

• Thank the person who has nominated you for the award
• Answer the 11 questions the person has asked you
• Nominate 11 people for the award (comment on their blog to let them know)
• Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions

So without further ado…

The 11 questions

What is your favorite book, or if you prefer, your favorite author?

Persuasion by Jane Austen and Little Women (Part 1) by Louisa May Alcott.

Is there a country you have always wanted to visit, and if so, where?

Scotland, especially the Shetland Islands to see the northern lights.

What do you enjoy about blogging, and how has your blog changed in unexpected ways since you started it?

Being obliged to learn about new things! Practicing writing and having an excuse to do so, and hopefully sharing ideas that are helpful for others. The Little Women Trail series for the blog was unexpected, and was only conceived because I had an itch over the summer to travel to Europe.

What is your favorite time period to read or write in, and why?

The nineteenth century – I love the language, the poetic and exploratory dialogue, the lengthy descriptions of places, thoughts, ideas, people.

What is your favorite time period to watch on film or television, and why?

Futuristic/alternative universe/past with an epic back story (Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, the Marvel universe etc). There’s so much imagination involved in dreaming up what could be, a whole world that needs to be invented – a lot of work translating that into something visually spectacular and yet believable and relatable.

How do you find inspiration?

Real life, talking to people and asking them about their own personal histories, reading books.

What started you down the road of writing and blogging?

Being on holidays – I got started doodling an alternate proposal scene in Little Women between Jo and Laurie, and then I just couldn’t stop writing…

How do you keep yourself motivated?

Remembering that my children will copy me, and so I can’t just quit! Talking through ideas with my husband. Going ice skating if I’m all wound up with ideas and going for a walk to muse over ideas.

What is your favorite kind of weather?

Cold but sunny. Perfect for walking and running about with the kids.

If you could have any pet, real or fictional, what would it be?

I’m not into pets, but I love the idea of having a pet dragon who would look after themselves, be really independent, and yet was a friend. It would be awesome to have some telepathic connection so we could converse too (like out of Anne MacCaffrey’s Dragonquest series, without the confinements of that social structure).

What four people would you invite to a dinner party (contemporary, historical, or fictional)?

Louisa May Alcott and Ladislas Wisniewski, Jane Austen and Tom LeFroy. I’d love to observe the dynamics and pick their brains as to what actually happened with those apparent romances!

 

The 11 blog nominees

I’ve included snippets to give you a hint as to what they – and their writers! – are about.

Forgotten Finds by Andrew Shaw – “…Created with one simple purpose in mind – to reach into the depths of the past, snatch up the most interesting, lesser-known bits and heave them into the 21st century.”

Literary Flits by Stephanie Jane – “I plan to suggest a book a day for your consideration and look forward to promoting a wide variety of literature from all corners of the world in the ongoing project that is Literary Flits.”

Not Quite Home by Steve John – “It’s easy to desire to be a vivid and vibrant flower that people admire, but how can we make a lasting impact on people’s lives?…How do we stop focusing on the flower, rather than the seed?”

The Traveller’s Path by L.A. Smith – “I love speculative fiction, because I think that stories about other worlds and impossible things give us new perspectives on our own lives.”

Storyteller Christine by Christine Dillon – “What was the ‘myth’ I believed about being an author? That it was a solitary task. In one sense it is – for large stretches of time BUT it is also a huge TEAM effort. Really that shouldn’t have been a surprise for isn’t that how God works?”

The History & Art Girl by Lizzie – “I’m hoping to share some of the interesting stories from my research here alongside other history, art, literature, travel and film that fills my head.”

Echoes of the past by Lynne –  “Where we live we have the most wonderful church locations and some just a few miles from our home, but we have only just found them, now that we are looking, before we just never saw them.”

Inklings Press by Ashley – “I chose ‘inklings’ first because that’s the name of the club formed by C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and a few of their writing friends explicitly for the purpose of talking about the things they were writing.”

Stories from the past by Rose Fairbanks – “Rose proudly admits her Darcy obsession…her life-long interest in history and research with her love for Jane Austen and the Regency Era consumes all of her professional time.”

Put it in writing by Anne Stormont – “I’m part subversive old bat and part kind-hearted grandma. I write novels for the thinking, mature woman.”

Trail stained fingers by Ankita and Mohit – “We’re Ankita and Mohit, an Indian couple who just can’t seem to get enough of airports…We dig everything from food and wine to luxury resorts, travel gadgets, beauty, nature, wildlife and cultural/historical tourism.”

 

The 11 questions for the 11 nominees

If you could rename a city in the world, which one, what would you name it and why?

What is your favorite novel?

If you could rewrite the ending of a book, which one and how would it end?

Is there a country you have always wanted to visit, and if so, where?

What is one of your favorite quotes from a book?

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

What’s your preferred writing space?

What do you like to do for fun when you need a break from writing (or from your blog)?

If you could travel to only one point in time in the past (without any space-time continuum complications for observing history ;)), where would you go?

What started you down the road of writing and/or blogging – and what helps to keep you going?

What four people would you invite to a dinner party – contemporary, historical, or fictional?

Many thanks again to Andrea for the timely encouragement, and all the best to my fellow bloggers in your writing aspirations!