I mentioned a while back that I’d been hoarding awards. We’re talking like the old- ladies-you-see-on-Animal-Planet-with-200-cats hoarding. And I’m not going to follow many of the rules on these awards- I’m a rebel like that! These are no pressure, just for fun awards!

Take a deep breath because here goes!

Jemi at Just Jemi gifted me with the Circle of Friends Award. I love this because I definitely feel like I’ve found a great group of writer friends online that I never would have connected with in real life.

I’m going to pass this one on to the following:

Amalia at Good To Begin Well, Better To End Well because she and I are in the query trenches together. We’ve bounced a gazillion ideas off each other and I really hope both our books are stronger for it. Thanks, Amalia!

Next, Simone at the The Romantic Query Letter And Happily Ever After gave me the Creative Writer Award. I’d like to extend this one to a few bloggers I feel are uber-creative.

Sarah at The Wit & Wisdom of Another Sarah is pretty awesome. I mean, come on, her avatar is Rosie the Riveter. It doesn’t get more awesome than that. Well, unless her picture was of Hatshepsut. That would pretty much rock.

Elspeth at It’s A Mystery has done a couple posts on 10 Rules of Writing. They’re pretty hilarious. She’s always got something positive to say- I love that!

Bethany Mattingly at Aspirations is creative enough to combine agriculture and writing into one blog. And she’s a student!


My next award was from Guinevere at This Is Not My Day Job. She gave me the Stylish Blogger Award. Pretty sleek, isn’t it? Here are my picks for stylish blogs:

Roni at Fiction Groupie writes wonderful how-to posts. I love them because they have tons of examples on all sorts of great writing tips. And she posted a pic from The Office today. I love that show!

Suzette and Bethany at Shooting Stars have one of the first blogs I ever followed. They run great contests and offer some really great advice. Love them!

Shannon at Book Dreaming is one of the most positive people I’ve ever met on the blogosphere. And she has great, uplifting quotes!

Michele at Southern City Mysteries has a really nifty blog. I’m not even into mysteries, but I love all the info and interviews on her blog.

I also received the Sunshine Award from Deb at Ranch Girl Ramblings. I love this one because I love Gerber daisies. Some blogs are like sunshine through the ether which I can really use now as Alaska emerges from the darkness of winter. I’m passing this one on to the following:

Tricia O’Brien at Talespinning. Her posts are lyrical and often accompanied by gorgeous photos (taken on her phone, no less!).

Guinevere at This is Not My Day Job often makes me laugh. And I want to steal her name.

Elana Johnson might have been the very first blog I followed. Her advice for query writing is stellar and really helped me hone my first query.

Lisa & Laura at Lisa And Laura Write are hilarious. May I repeat- hilarious. If you don’t follow them you need to. You can even go meet them in NYC!

Paul Greci at Northwriter is from Alaska too! I love his posts because he offers writerly advice and situations with an Alaskan twist. And he runs outside when it’s really, really cold. 17 degrees Fahrenheit is my limit for outdoor activities- he’s got me by almost 50 degrees.


Finally, Bethany Mattingly has bestowed the Bold Faced Liar Creative Blogger Award on me. I now must come up with six truths and one crazy lie about myself. I’m gifting this award to all those who’ve won awards above or given me an award. It’s a double award ceremony!

1. I’ve done Arnold Schwarzenegger’s makeup.
2. I’ve played with dead people.
3. I’ve climbed Mt. McKinley. (Or Denali, if you’re from my neck of the woods.)
4. I’m married to the most wonderful, patient man in the world.
5. My daughter almost killed me once resulting in hospitalization and multiple blood transfusions.
6. I’ve traveled to the Czech Republic, Italy, England, Ireland, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, France, Costa Rica, Panama, Bermuda, and Aruba.
7. I met First Lady Laura Bush after being nominated as Alaska’s U.S. History Teacher of the Year.

So, which one is the lie? I play this with my students on the first day of school and they hardly ever get it right. Mwahahaha!