Monday, March 1, 2010

Thank You Time

“I can no other answer make, but, thanks, and thanks.” - William Shakespeare

I have been a bit remiss in acknowledging the kind bloggers who have presented my blog with some very special awards, so I am using today’s post to catch up.

First, I’d like to thank Helen Ginger for the lovely You Are My Sunshine Award. Don’t you just love those yellow galoshes! If you haven’t visited Helen’s Straight From Hel blog, you need to rush right over. Every day Helen, a writer and freelance editor, offers interesting and informative posts on all things about books, publishing, and editing.

Next I’d like to thank Karen Walker who bestowed the same award upon me. It’s great to feel appreciated. Karen’s blog, Karen…following the whispers, like her memoir, Following the Whispers, is full of honesty and emotions about her past and her current spiritual journey through life. This is another blog I try to stop by as often as possible, and recommend that you pay her a visit, too.

The You Are My Sunshine award is given to acknowledge those who have a blog and spend endless hours ensuring that other bloggers get feedback on their blogs by leaving comments, adding themselves as a follower or dropping by just to let you know there are people out there.

How special to be singled out for this prestigious award more than once. I do enjoy blog hopping – I find it becomes addictive. I know how much I enjoy receiving comments and therefore I do try to reciprocate whenever possible.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roz Morris of DirtyWhiteCandy.com for the different Sunshine Award and the Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award. Roz is a professional writer of nearly a dozen published novels. She lives and works in one of my favorite cities, London. Her site abounds with tips on the basics of writing and blogs covering all aspects of writing from inspiration to creative provocation. Be sure to check it out.

If, like me, you’re curious about where the name Dirty White Candy comes from, you will find the interesting answer on the sidebar of her site.

For the Sugar Doll Award, I’m supposed to tell you ten interesting things about myself. The main reason I write fiction is because my life, though I enjoy it immensely, is not all that interesting. I didn’t want to bore you to pieces so I reduced it to five somewhat out of the ordinary things.

1) I once signed my own death warrant. It was required as part of the paperwork for our move to Saudi Arabia. My shaking hand made my signature hard to read. Fortunately, I did nothing to make the Saudi officials feel the need to carry it out.

2) During my 39-year marriage I’ve lived in six foreign countries. They were Taiwan, Korea, England, Holland, Italy and Saudi Arabia.

3) My favorite family vacation of all time was a safari in Kenya. We took about a gazillion pictures (give or take). Developing all those photos (in London) increased the cost of the trip significantly. Needless to say, the vacation was before the days of digital cameras.

4) I truly believe that I once saw a ghost in our home in Dallas, Texas, after I had gone to bed one night. She was non-threatening and produced feelings of awe rather than fear. However, I never slept on that side of the bed again.

5) While visiting an area of burial mounds in Korea, I felt like a real celebrity when a busload of young Korean school kids were more interested in the “foreign woman” than the historic site they were visiting. Each asked me, in nearly perfect English, for my autograph. How could I refuse?

Oops. I'm not quite done. This past Sunday, I learned Helen Ginger had also awarded me with the Fabulous Sugar Doll Blogger Award. Thank you again, Helen.

I’m trying my best not to let all these accolades go to my head…but it isn’t easy.

I'm supposed to pass these award along. I‘m doing that by saying THANK YOU to all of you who take the time to visit and to those who go a step farther and leave a comment and/or become a follower. You make the work that goes into blogging worth it and keep me motivated to improve my writing. Please feel free to help yourself to one, two or all three of the awards. Don’t be shy. You deserve them, for without you, writing this blog would be a rather unrewarding exercise of futility.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Shakespeare, awards, Helen Ginger, Karen Walker, Roz Morris, blogging,

20 comments:

L. Diane Wolfe said...

The first one is really scary! Like signing a waiver that says 'you have my permission to kill me.'
Spooky!

Congrats on the awards!

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Diane is right...the first one is really scary!

And the ghost. I saw a similar one when I lived in my previous house...while I was in the nursery with my baby in the middle of the night. Makes a chill go over me just thinking about it....

Elizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder

T. Powell Coltrin said...

First of all, Congrats on your awards. You have a very interesting blog that I enjoy visiting.

Second, I'm a little jealous of the places you've visited and lived.

Joanne said...

Kudos to you for these great Awards. Now, I have to argue with you about your life not being that interesting ... you are quite an amazing world traveler! What exciting stories you've only hinted at here, esp to me, someone who hasn't left the East coast more than a couple of times!

Carol Kilgore said...

I don't think I could've signed my own death warrant. That's the scariest thing I've ever heard.

Congrats on all your awards!

The Old Silly said...

Congrats on all the well deserved awards - those are some real fine bloggy buddies who think highly of you! And so do I. (wink)

Marvin D Wilson

Arlee Bird said...

I always find it ironic when people say their lives aren't very interesting and then they come up with stories that make the rest of us feel like we have never left our houses. Boring life indeed!

Always enjoy what you have to say in your blog posts and the comments you leave on others.

Lee

Helen Ginger said...

You are a very interesting person. I want to know more about #1. Why did you have to sign your death certificate? So you could never enter the country again? That's so odd.

Helen
Straight From Hel

Elspeth Futcher said...

Many congrats on all the awards. My goodness, Jane, what a life you've had so far! That first one is terrifying and how I envy you for your safari and living in London. It's one of my favourite cities.

Tamika: said...

Congratulations Jane! You deserve all the blog love!

Happy writing.

Nancy J. Parra said...

Congrats on your awards- you deserve them. And I think you've lived a very interesting life-yikes on the death warrant-sheesh!!

joe doaks-Author said...

You know, Jane, I see at least two good novels there, maybe three...Death Certificate in advance is great, the ghost thing, and in similar way, the burial mound. All seeds for novels.

By the way I do recall you were in Korea! So, you are the first winner in the book giveaway I blogged about today. Just email me your mailing addy, and when my book comes out, I'll send you a copy--if you'd like one.

Best Wishes, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog

Roz Morris aka @Roz_Morris . Blog: Nail Your Novel said...

I guessed you'd be interesting, Jane! Please please please will you write a post to explain the death warrant? Fill the remaining five questions with the details! And you can't have been married for 39 years - unless the death warrant has in fact suspended you at a much younger age...

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

Diane, the form was a wavier basically saying if you bring in illegal drugs, you will be put to death and that you agree with the punishment. I wouldn’t even carry in a bottle of aspirin. I bought everything I needed in their pharmacies!

Elizabeth, I’d like to hear more about your ghost.

Thanks, Journaling Woman. I’d once said when we bought our first house that I never wanted to move again. Famous last words. I never dreamed we would have the opportunity to live in some many different environments.

Thanks Joanne and Karen. I think my life is interesting to me – it’s just that I’m not sure other people would find it interesting.

Carol, I did think about not signing the form but I was told that I couldn’t get an entry Visa without it. My husband was already there. I felt I had no choice. I knew I didn’t have to worry about smuggling drugs, but I have seen the movies where people sneak them into bags of unsuspecting tourists!

Thank you, Marvin and Arlee. I appreciate your kind words and support.

Helen, as I mentioned to Carol, it was required to get my Visa. The form simply said if you bring in illegal drugs, you agree we have the right to kill you and we will act on that right quickly.

Thanks, Elspeth. I am so glad we did most of our traveling when I was a much younger person.

Thank you, Tamika and Nancy.

Or maybe, Galen, I can include them all in one novel. Hmm…I’ll think about that! And, I am so excited that simply living in Korea qualifies me as a winner of your book. Of course, I’d love a copy! I can’t wait to read it! I’ll send you an email with my address. Thanks.

Dirty White Candy, good suggestion. I’ll consider writing a post on signing my own death certificate. I can’t believe I’ve been married for 39 years either – I thought only old people were married that long!)

Natasha said...

Congratulations on all three Awards, Jane. You deserve every one of them. I don't leave comments very often, but I absolutely adore your posts.

And gosh, what an exciting life you've led! The first must have been particularly scary. But then the Saudi is a really scary place for women to get caught in.

Anonymous said...

I've only given out one award, and its the Awesomeous Maximus Award. If I have't given it to you yet, I will the next time around. Congrats! on the ones you've won.

Stephen Tremp

Anonymous said...

Hello. And Bye.

Christina Rodriguez said...

I have rather draconian beliefs when it comes to the death penalty, but considering Saudi Arabia's problems with human trafficking, this punishment for drugs seems awfully BACKWARDS. They'd never subject the men in their country to the same standards and they're trafficking women and children as slaves!

Sorry, but this burns my biscuits. I'm glad that in all of our travels when my dad was in the military, we were never stationed anywhere near there.

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

Thank you Rayna. I’ve really enjoyed your blog as well. Saudi was certainly not my favorite place that I’ve lived but it was an interesting experience.

Thanks, Stephen. I have received your Awesomous Maximus Award, and it makes me smile every time I see it on my “awards video.”

Yes, Christina, Saudi is backwards in quite a few ways. It’s not a place I would ever move back to, but I don’t regret the experience.

Morgan Mandel said...

Congratulations, Jane, on all your awards. You always have some great stuff here,which I don't know how you find.

You're reminding me I did receive some awards which I never got around to acknowledging and passing around. One may have even been from you, I'm thinking close to a year ago, that's how far behind I am.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Jane's Ride - Novelist Jane Kennedy Sutton's journey through the ups and downs of the writing, publishing and marketing world