Liebster Award!

The lovely and talented J.A. Ward Writes has nominated me for a Liebster Award!  Thanks so much--I really appreciate it!

There are a few rules for this award, so before we get started, let me list them here:


1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog and link back to the blogger who presented this award to you.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the nominator, list 11 random facts about yourself and create 11 questions for your nominees;

3. Present the Liebster Blog Award to 11 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed and leave a comment on their blog letting them know they have been chosen. (No tag backs)

4. Copy and Paste the blog award on your blog.

So without further ado, here are the questions from my nominator:

1. Who is your favorite author and why?  Diana Gabaldon.  She transports you to another time and place, and her characters are so vibrant and real--it always takes me some time to come back to the real world after I stop reading one of her books.  I basically want to be her when I grow up.

2. If you could hang out with one character from a book or TV show for a day, who would it be?  Hmmm...  I have to pick just one? Oh, fine.  Jamie Fraser from the Outlander series.  Or maybe Claire Fraser.  Or Gus from Lonesome Dove.  Or... :)

3. Edward or Jacob? Or neither? Or..both??  Neither, really.  But, if I'm forced to pick, I'll go with Jacob.

4. What was your favorite book series you have ever read that wasn’t Harry Potter?  Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.  If you haven't read this series yet, you must.

5. Do you have any pets? If so, what do you have?  I have two orange and white kitties.  They are stinkers.

6. What aspect of writing do you find the hardest?  Editing.  It can be difficult to see how to change a scene to make it work.

7. If you could live anywhere else for a year – all expenses paid – where would you live and why?  London.  I love that city--it's one of my favorite places in the world.  So much to see and do, so much history.  Just an amazing place.

8. Who is your favorite band/singer?  Probably The Old 97's.  I've really liked them since college, and I have all their albums.

9. Name a celebrity crush.  Just one?  Jeremy Renner.  And Bradley Cooper.  And Brooks Laich.  And... :)

10. If you could go back and change your name from birth, would you do it? What would you change it to?  Nah.  It's nice to have a unique name, even if no one ever pronounces it correctly.

11. Favorite vice or addiction?  Books!  I can't leave a bookstore without buying one or several books.

And here are my 11 random facts:

1. I grew up in Texas, but have never fired a gun.

2. When I was in high school, my winterguard team won the world championships.  I still have the gold medal packed away in a box.

3. My favorite color is green.  It used to be purple, and I still really like purple, but green has pulled ahead in recent years.  Purple is taking it well.

4. I am a huge Anglophile.  Almost to the point of obsession.

5. I hate to be sticky.  To the point that I will avoid certain foods if there is even a chance I might get sticky.

6. I am one of the few remaining people who has not read 50 Shades of Grey.

7. I can't watch scary/horror movies.  They bother me.  For some reason, scary TV shows don't have this effect.

8. My favorite sport is hockey.  Love to watch it on TV, love going to a game even more.  I can't ice skate to save my life, but I appreciate it when I see it :)

9. I love superhero movies.  This past summer was awesome, with Spiderman, The Avengers, and Batman all coming out in the same year. I was in nerd heaven!

10. If I wasn't a professor, I think I'd be a veterinarian.  Like J.A. Ward wrote in her post, I'm on my way to becoming a crazy cat lady.  I only have 2 right now, but I'm about to move into a new house (rather than an apartment), which means I'll be able to get more!

11. My favorite holiday is Halloween.  I haven't dressed up in years, but I always enjoy seeing other people's costumes.

Enough about me.  Here are 11 questions for my nominees:

1. What's your favorite writing/reading snack?

2. Where have you always wanted to visit?

3. What's your favorite accent?

4. What movie do you always watch when you find it on TV?

5. What's your favorite hobby?

6. Say you can quit your day job and do whatever you want.  What would you do?

7. What made you want to start writing?

8. What is your favorite genre?

9. Where is your writing/reading nook?

10. What book do you wish you had written?

11. Early bird, night owl, or something in between?

And my 11 nominees are... (in no particular order)

1. Deb's Writing Room

2. Amara Royce

3. Azia Said What?

4. Clover Autrey

5. Jen FitzGerald

6. The Reluctant Author

7. S.P. Bowers

8. Reading, Writing, and Everything in Between

9. Write Me

10. Writer in Waiting

11. What I Learned Today

All excellent blogs, and I recommend you check them out!

Thanks again, J.A. Ward!