The Liebster Award! I nominate… You!

I was recently nominated for the Liebster Award by Paola Crespo, one of my writing Tweeps! Thank you, Paola! So what’s the Liebster Award? Well, it’s more of a sort of blog hop that you pass along to up-and-coming bloggers who perhaps don’t have a lot of followers yet.

The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog

2. Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you

3. Nominate other bloggers (ideally those who are just starting and would benefit most from this exposure, but of course nominate whoever you wish!)

4. Give these bloggers 11 questions to answer and let them know they have been nominated.

My Answers to Paola’s Questions

1. What was the last book that made you cry?

Hugh Howey‘s Wool. I read all 5 parts as an omnibus a few weeks ago, and I know I cried at least once. Probably several times, I’m not sure. It’s a great read, one of my favorite dystopian novels.

2. What is a really underrated book that you would love to see on the big screen?

Oh gosh, that’s a tough one. I don’t necessarily feel that a good book has to be turned into a movie, nor do I think that not turning one into a movie means it’s underrated. But if we’re talking strictly in turns of “this would be fun on the silver screen” I’d have to say the Island of Fog series by Keith Robinson. It’s a fantasy series “for ages 9 and up”, and definitely enjoyable to adults as well and a good balance of lighter and darker themes. It was a lot of fun to read and I think it would be a lot of fun to watch. Plus, I’ve done a bit of beta reading for Keith and he’s a really friendly guy!

3. What is something that has to be really well-done in a book for you to like it? Plot, setting, characters, etc?

Everything? Lol! If I have to pick one specific thing, though, I guess I’ll go with romance. Nothing turns a book from good to meh quicker than a romance subplot where you can’t understand why the characters are falling for each other, or acting the way that they are. Or, worst of all, an incomprehensible love triangle. Don’t get me wrong, I like romantic subplots. But I have to be able to see the character fall in love, to get some sense of their feelings, not just be told “oh, he was perfect and she loved him” or something.

4. Is there a book that you consider your guilty pleasure? If so, why?

No, not really. I don’t really like the notion of guilty pleasures, to be honest, especially when it comes to reading. Whenever someone questions how I can like, for example, Harry Potter so much “at my age” it just makes me more vocal in my love for the series.

5. What is your favorite book setting? (For example: boarding school, New York, Fantasy AU etc).

I don’t know that I have a favorite. It’s highly genre-dependant anyway. For fantasy I love a good medieval setting infested with mythology. For dystopia I love anything unique but believable. For crime, what beats a rainy part of the UK? But I also love books set in unexpected settings for the genre, so I can’t really pick. Any setting that manages to feel real and tangible is great by me!

6. What is a book you want to read purely for the cover?

I bought Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs purely for the cover, but I haven’t read it yet.

7. Is there a book you’ve tried to read innumerable times but have never been able to finish? What is it?

Nope!

8. What is your OTP (one true pairing)?

Hmm… so many choices! I think I’d have to go with Xena and Gabrielle, though. Because… well, because Xena and Gabrielle.

9. Why and when did you start your blog?

I started this blog in January 2014, because I wanted a blog focused on my writing and myself as an author. I had another blog before which was more general but I closed that down.

10. If you estimate, what is the most books you’ve ever checked out from your library?

At the same time? I don’t know… 5? 10?

11. What is your favorite type of post to write for your blog?

That’s tough! Especially because I’m in the process of introducing some new post types right now: Tool Tips (recommendations of tools for writers and others), Spotlights (about a genre/writer/character/trope/etc I think deserves attention) and one, which I haven’t premiered yet, called Thoughts (which will be, hopefully short, posts about topics usually related to writing and my thoughts and experience with them). Honestly, my favorite kind of post is just the kind of post people enjoy reading!

My Nominees

As always with these things, I have trouble figuring out who to tag. Most bloggers I know have been around longer than this blog has, and I think at least a couple of them have already been tagged with the Liebster Award. So I’d like to tag… YOU! That’s right, if you’re reading this and you’re new or newish to blogging, jump on! Just link to me when you post, okay? Awesome!

My Questions

If you want to participate in this, answer the following questions. Some are the same as the ones Paola posed to me, others are from other people’s Liebster posts and a few are just my own.

1. What is your favorite type of post to write for your blog?
2. What is a dream of yours you’ve never blogged about before?
3. On a more literal level, what do you usually dream about? Do you have any recurring dreams?
4. What kind of music do you listen to when you write? Or when you blog if you’re not a writer?
5. What was the last book that made you cry?
6. Do you prefer ebooks or print books?
7. What’s your favorite social media network? Why?
8. Do you listen to podcasts? Are there any you’d recommend?
9. If you were to cosplay at a con, who would you cosplay as? Or, if you already cosplay, what was your latest costume?
10. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
11. What’s your favorite kind of tea? Or coffee if you don’t drink tea?

Have fun!