Lovely, lovely, lovely...

Thanks to musician extraordinaire Stan Stewart, I am again honored with the "One Lovely Blog Award." Stan writes the unquestionably lovely Muz4Now blog with musings that are relevant to artists of all persuasions, not just musicians.

So, in keeping with the spirit of the award, I shall share 7 things about myself and pass the "1LBA" along to 5 (some say 15, but the rules on this are fuzzy) other worthy bloggers.

And heee-eee-eere we go:

1. I have met President Ronald Regan, broken bread with Norman Mailer and listened to hauntingly beautiful Celtic music while sitting on the same couch as Frank McCourt. All were fascinating men, but I'm happiest when in the company of my husband of 23 years.
2. I love to cook, though I rarely make a recipe "as written." I'm always convinced I can improve on the original.
3. I could eat Thai or Indian food at every meal every day for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy with the menu.
4. There is no such thing as too many Heath bars or too much coffee.
5. Life without dogs or horses is not worth living.
6. I love LEGOs. I've already informed my 8-year old daughter that when she outgrows them, we'll be keeping them for me to play with.
7. I have a habit of developing deep and abiding crushes on my characters. This leads to carved-in-concrete casting opinions, which is certain to get me in trouble should any of my books ever be optioned for film.

And now, I'd like to bestow this award on some fabulously wonderful blogs:

• Check out writer, painter, and purveyor of exquisite snark Alyson Peterson's newly established "Dirty Green Jello." Alyson once wrote the "Crazy Writer Girl" blog, which ended when her life exploded. But she's back now and I, for one, am glad of it!

• Romance Writer Roni Loren's (@RoniLoren) "Fiction Groupie" blog is an excellent source of writerly information and (for those cold winter days) womanly inspiration. 

• Quilting queen Kelly Smith's (@quiltinRedhead) "Redheaded Quilter" is part travel journal, part quilting blog, with the occasional recipe thrown in for good measure. Kelly is a wonderful writer with two books and a major editorship to her credit. I liked it better, though, when she lived just down the street instead of halfway across the country...

• Tell-it-like-it-is writer Lydia Sharp (@lydia_sharp) writes "The Sharp Angle" where she discusses music, craft, current reading, and the state of the publishing industry with acerbic aplomb.

• I manage a health and fitness blog for a client and through that blog have discovered Jeff and Mike Adams' (@TruckinFitness) "Truckin' Fitness." Their blog is consistently excellent, full of solid, interesting, usable fitness and training information.

And there you have it. Thanks to Stan, you now know far more about me than you ever wished to. And you've been introduced to some mighty fine bloggers. Go forth and read them to your heart's content. My job here is done!

Keep on keeping on.

Birthday Wishes, Awards, and Worthwhile #Writing Blogs

Yesterday was my birthday (cue the confetti shower and the kazoo salute).

Last year on my birthday, I posted my Wishes for Wannabe & Working Writers. I had every intention of revamping the post and proffering it again because everything I said a year ago holds true: I wish you enough...

But birthdays are not about revisiting the past. They're about marking a moment in time and marching forward into the fray of the future with bravery, however misplaced it may be. Earlier this week, JKP at The Manicheans blog bestowed upon me The Lovely Blog Award.

And I didn't get her anything. ~sigh~

The terms of accepting said award are simple: say 7 things about yourself and nominate 15 other blog recipients. (Hmm... There is a very real fear that if I continue to accept blog awards, there will be no secrets left between me and thee. Then the mystery will be gone and the honeymoon will be over. ::sniff::)

Well, since my birthday got me thinking about all the stuff I'd still like to do in life, I figured I'd share my dreams with you. Perhaps my shouting them out to the world will make me more accountable and kick my ever-widening butt to get off the couch and go do them!

So here, in no particular order are a few things I'd like to have checked off my life list when my last birthday comes and some of the things that, IMO, make life worth living:

Wishes & Wants

1. I'd like to ride a bareback, bridleless musical freestyle demonstration that knocks peoples' socks off.  Like Stacey Westfall. (See her in the video below. ~sigh~ Gives me equal parts warm fuzzies and cold chills. It's so lovely.)  I've got it all choreographed in my mind. I know the music, the movements, and the maneuvers. My vision of it is *fantastic.* In reality, however, I'm still in the need-the-bridle-to-control-direction phase.


2.  I want to sit in a theatre with a crowd of strangers and watch the screening of a movie I've written. I'd love to have you join me. I'll share my popcorn.

3.  I want to set foot on every continent and visit at least 50 countries. (Current tally: alas: only 2 continents and 9 countries.) Ideally, such travel includes equitrekking with someone who knows the area. 'Cause everything's better when seen from horseback. :D

4.  I want to be an extra in a movie. Either as an extra rider or as "Uncredited Screaming Woman." You know: the one who, in a grade-Z film screams bloody murder after discovering the approaching zombie hordes? Yeah, that. I want to do that.

Lifetime Loves

5.  I've never met a dog I didn't like and I love everything about puppies: the smell of puppy breath, their petal-soft fur, their innocent eyes, and their boundless optimism. I wish we could give a puppy infusion directly into the veins of every elected politician.

6.  Every day I thank God that I am graced to spend some more time on this planet with my family: my favorite people who encourage my dreams while simultaneously keeping me humble.

7.  I would love to personally shake the hand of the first person to discover how to brew coffee. Seriously. He (or she) was pure genius.

And now I shall pass the One Lovely Blog Award on to some of my wonderful writerly Triberr friends. Some people claim to have "writing blogs" but, instead have "BUY MY BOOK!!! blogs." (I despise those and would never knowingly steer you toward them.) Not these folks. They each have writing-related blogs worth checking out.

*  Amberr Meadows (@Amberrisme) "Like a Bump on a Blog"
*  Trish Gentry (@VaChicklet) "ChickletsLit"
*  Shannon Mayer (@QueryAddict) "Wringing Out Words"
*  Martin Gijzemijter (@MagWrites) "Dinner With God"
*  Jeremy Rodden (@toonopolis) "Toonopolis"

*  Van Heerling (@VanHeerling) "Van Heerling Books"
*  Shannon Taylor Hodnett (@shanonaryder) "Shanona Writer"
*  Lindsay Wheble (@Lyndsay_Wheble) "Tolstoy is my Cat"
*  Martin King (@themartinking) "Martin King"
*  Stef Mcdaid (@Ukeditor) "Write Into Print"

*  Eri Nelson (@dearharts) "Dearharts"
*  Karina Cox (@karina_cox) "Pondhopper Musings"
*  Lisa Goodwin (@LGoodwin80107) "Lisa Goodwin's Blog"
*  Belinda Witzenhausen (@Bwitzenhausen) "Belinda Witzenhausen" (graphics to inspire creativity)
*  Jen DeSantis (@JenD_Author) "A Measure of Madness"

Visit them, and tell them I said "hi!" Oh -- and if you wish, buy their books. I'm sure they wouldn't mind but they won't smack you over the head and hold you hostage in order to make a sale.

Cheers!

Awards Season

or, Thoughts on Having "One Lovely Blog"

Since I was not nominated for an Oscar this year, I assumed that the early-March awards season would pass me by. Thanks to Karen at the always interesting Fiction for Dessert, I was mistaken.

Karen has bestowed my humble blog with the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks! I'm touched. I really am. I don't know Karen. I've never met her. To think that someone other than my mother reads my posts and finds something to appreciate about them is exceedingly gratifying.

I researched the 1LBA to find its origins and -- after a brief, but targeted search online -- I couldn't. I did discover that other recipients have also failed in the task, so at least I'm not alone in my search-engine shortfall.

Accepting the award comes with certain responsibilities. One must:

1.) Post it on your blog and include the name of the person (and a link to his or her blog) who bestowed it upon you.

2.) Pass the award on to 15 other blogs you have recently enjoyed. [This one changes, depending upon the blog you check. Some say "10 other blogs." Some say "another blog." It's a sort of chain-letter approach to alerting the world to blogs you like.]

3.) Contact the awarded bloggers and let them know that you have awarded their work.

Now, I am all for telling people that I like their work. However, I have several minor speedbumps to address as I wend my way down the road to award acceptance.

Some of the blogs that I follow are -- well -- HUGE. Their writers certainly don't need lil ol' me telling them that I love their work.

Others have decidedly masculine writers who, I daresay, may not be all that thrilled with having a veddy, veddy pink, flowery award flung in their direction.

Still others are maintained by personal friends. Awarding them smacks of nepotism. Kind of like my Mom sending me kudos.

Ah, but where would the world be without flowers, little people thanking big ones, and supporting our friends? With this thought in mind, I hereby bequeath the award of "One Lovely Blog" to these gems (in no particular order):

1. Red Headed Quilter by writer & avid quilter Kelly Smith.

2. Author & educator Trudy Morgan-Cole's Hypergrafitti.

3. Barbara Simpson's funny, poignant, introspective comments on a life in which she is Never a Barbie.

4. Christian writer, book reviewer, and Nashville-to-Michigan transplant Janet Morris Grimes' Pursuit of Sappiness features reviews, devotionals, musings on parenting and writing, & more.

5. The prolific and poetic agent Suzie Townsend's Confessions of a Wandering Heart.

6. Agent's assistant Rayna Erlick's transparent and articulate Rayna Reads.

7. Stuntman and dedicated freerunner Paul Darnell's Live Free or Die is a motivating, energetic, behind-the-scenes look into an athlete's life.

8. The indispensable blog of uber-agent Nathan Bransford.

9. Missy Frye's Incurable Disease of Writing. (Snapshots on this blog can be annoying, but Missy is very transparent about her writing struggles & she regularly features guest posts.) [Truth in advertising -- sometimes she features Yours Truly...]

10. The amazingly versatile and prolific Cherie Burbach's Working Writers & Bloggers blog is packed with writing advice, guest posts, & interviews. [More truth in advertising: she featured an interview with me in December, 2009.]

11. The technically gifted Terisa Green writes a brilliant blog that is chock-full of tips to strengthen the writer's craft.

12. Trucker and aspiring adventure writer Daniel Audet writes lyrical posts about the roadblocks that all writers struggle with on The Writers Road. He only writes occasionally, which makes each post resonate even more.

13. Literary agent Chip MacGregor's regularly answers reader's questions about the publishing industry on his blog.

14. Adrian-Luc Sanders -- eternally interesting and hyper-opinionated -- discusses writing and editing in great uncensored detail at Kowloon by Night.

15. The charming Australian-by-way-of-NZ YA writer Karen Healey (not to be confused with the amazing equestrienne of the same name) chronicles her life in Chocolate in the Fruit Bowl. She is also the guest blogger / Writer in Residence at Inside A Dog for the month of March.

Thanks to all of you for enriching my reading, expanding my understanding, or just making me laugh! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the blogs I've mentioned: I encourage you to check them out at your earliest opportunity. Happy reading!