Liebstering, Take Two

I got a nice little surprise the other morning. The very generous Raimey Gallant nominated me for a Liebster Award. I guess this means I’m doing something halfway decent with this page.

The Liebster Award is a blogging award where blog writers can nominate other blogs they believe should get some extra recognition. The writer then has the opportunity to add some background information about themselves by answering the questions their nominator listed and also pay it forward by nominating their own choices.

There seems to be a number of variations when it comes to the rules for accepting/nominating the Liebster; a quick Google search gave me three or four slightly different versions.  To make things easier all-around, I’m going to use the ones Raimey listed on her blog.

Liebster Award Rules and Nominees:

Rule 1: Thank the person who nominated you for the award.

Rule 2: Answer the 11 questions the person asked you.

Rule 3: Nominate 11 people.

Rule 4: Ask the people you have nominated 11 questions.

Part I: Raimey Gallant

So, first of all; many, many thanks to Raimey Gallant for the nomination. Raimey continues to be one of the most supportive and helpful people I’ve encountered and her ongoing efforts organising things like the #AuthorToolboxBlogHop make her someone anyone interesting the writing life should be paying attention to.

Part II: Raimey’s 11 questions.

1. Who is your favourite author that you haven’t listed as a password backup for a financial institution?

• I don’t think I’ve ever used Neil Gaiman as a password backup.

2. Invent a hashtag that you would like to see gain traction.

• #yournextfavoritewriter

3. The wackiest writing prompt you can think of on the fly.

• Your MC goes to the circus and is called out of the audience to join in the performances. What happens?

4. What genre(s) do you write in, and what subgenre(s) do you spice in?

• The bulk of my writing, the House Valerius series, is best described as urban fantasy, although I have written short pieces in various other genres such as science fiction, fantasy, crime & horror. With the series, I also try to include elements of thriller and mystery where I can.

5. What does your plotting/pantsing technique involve? Please describe using Morse code. Kidding. You can use letters.

• Previously I just did a rough outline of the major events and then winged it. I’m trying to do a more detailed outline for my third book since I seem to be having some difficulty with it.

6. Using only three-word sentences, tell us about your childhood (i.e. I hated hockey. Mom re-married dad. Toaster broke window.)

• Born years later.
• Raised in countryside.
• Self-confidence issues.

7. Write the eulogy for one of your characters in less than 100 words.

• She was brave and she was loyal. She did her duty without regard for herself, only for what needed to be done. She fought and bled for us because we were her family and she gave her life for us because she believed it was the right thing to do. She was a Watchman and she was among the best of us.

8. Tell us something quirky about you.

• I can recall some of the most useless trivia and yet, I have difficulty remembering simple household duties.

9. I’m gonna need you to dig deep for this one. If chances are slim, how can something be fat about it (fat chance)?

• Since chances are slim, a fat one would be very unlikely. Therefore when something is described as being a fat chance, it’s a very unlikely outcome.

10. If you could change one thing about a social media site, what would it be?

• A familiar lament but an edit function on Twitter would be nice.

11. Please only answer a or b. (Hint: Don’t answer a, because the Internet is forever!) a) What is your number of sexual partners? b) How many plots do you have in your head on any given day?

• I’d say three or four plots on average.

Part III: My Nominees

In no particular order:

• Annie’s Perception
• Solscript
• R.B. McConnell
• T.A. Uner
• L.F. Oake
• Joshua Robertson
• L.M. Nelson
• D.M. Newlun
• Laura M. Hughes
• Kent Wayne
• Dianna L. Gunn

Part IV: My Questions

1. You’re suddenly inside your favourite movie. What do you do first?
2. What aspect of your work are you most proud of?
3. How many projects do you currently have?
4. Which book do you feel has affected your life the most?
5. What is your definition of what it means to be a writer?
6. What is the most stereotypically writer-ly thing you do?
7. Do you hand write or type?
8. Where is your preferred place to write?
9. What would you choose as your totem animal?
10. What do you consider your biggest flaw?
11. What’s your drink of choice?

Well, there we have it. My answers, my nominees, and my questions. And once again, many thanks to Raimey for the nomination.