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,

A Proud Scribbler Recipient

"Flattery is all right so long as you don't inhale.” -Adlai Stevenson

It’s been quite the week for me. I’ve received the Superior Scribbler Award. Okay, those who have been visiting for a while, I can hear your thoughts. Yes, I’ve written a couple of blogs, about how though I am honored to receive these type of awards, I’ve never been comfortable passing them along. And, yes, I’ve even compared them to snail mail chain letters. But I never said I’d never participate (at least I don’t think I did). Anyway, I’ve discovered never has a way of changing its mind more often than not.

I’m participating now because I’m older and wiser and because I received the Award not once but twice.

On Monday, I stumbled on awards day at Elizabeth Spann Craig’s blog, Mystery Writing is Murder. While in my shorts and t-shirt with disheveled hair and no makeup, I was mingling among the hoity-toity. Suddenly, I saw my name in lights – well, okay, not really, but as Elizabeth had said early on in her blog, “…please use your imagination…we’re all writers here!” My first impulse was to run out of the room so I could shower, change clothes and try to do something with my hair. But, instead, I took a deep breath, reminded myself no one could see me, smiled, and said, “Wow.”

On Wednesday, before the excitement had a chance to wear off, I received a comment from Karen Walker, that she had a surprise for me on her blog Following the Whispers. Who doesn’t love surprises? Though I seldom miss any of Karen’s posts, I rushed right over and once again saw that adorable little kid (who reminds me of my grandson) on the Scribbler Award with my name listed as a recipient. Being at a loss for words, I believe I said something deep, like, “Wow,” again.

I’ll pause for a moment here, so you can take the opportunity to pat me on the back. That felt good. Thank you.

If you haven’t visited Elizabeth Spann Craig’s or Karen Walker’s blog, you’re missing a lot. Elizabeth has a very special knack of taking an event that happened in her day and turning it into an entertaining lesson on writing. She is the author of recently released Pretty is as Pretty Dies. It’s worth a visit to her blog just to see her book cover – it always makes me smile. The book sounds terrific and I can’t wait to read it.

Karen’s blog is very personal. She openly discusses her feelings - good and bad. Each topic is approached with such honesty that I have come to think of her as a friend though we have not met in “real” life. Her book, Following the Whispers, is a memoir I’m also looking forward to reading.

I’m naming my recipients, but I will leave it up to them on whether or not they choose to pass it on. If I’ve named someone that has already received the award, well…give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it.

Sandy Lender—Today the Dragon Wins

Katherine Owens—Katherine Owens

Nancy Parra—This Writer’s Life

Gayle Carline—On the edge of the chair of literature

Galen Kindley—Imagineering Fiction

Here are the rules for Passing on the Superior Scribbler Award: (which, according to rule #5, I’m required to post):
1)Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.
2)Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.
3)Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to this post, which explains The Award.
4)Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visit this post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!
5)Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

By the way, I am #851 on the Mr. Linky List.

Please feel free to comment on anything that strikes your fancy. Remember for the month of August, every comment and/or new follower receives an entry to win a signed copy of The Ride.

Thanks for stopping by.

Tags: Superior Scribbler Award, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Karen Walker, Sandy Lender, Katherine Owens, Tags: Nancy Parra, Gayle Carline, Galen Kindley, The Ride, Adlai Stevenson,