I've been nominated for a Leibster Award! What?

A week ago I discovered that I’d been nominated for a Liebster Award by the wonderful Alisdair Daws. My first reaction was "What on earth is a Leibster Award?" My second reaction was "And why the hell was I nominated? I've almost given up on my blog!" (Oh, and there was this other smaller voice twittering, "Oh, wow! Yay!" but it was drowned out by its noisier cousins.)

So I did what Alisdair and his nominator Melinda Kovac did when they received their nomination - I googled it. What I found was {drum roll}: The Liebster Award is an internet only award given by bloggers to other new bloggers which recognises and highlights new up-and-coming blogs. As Alisdair noted, "it’s a bit like a chain letter - you get nominated, and in turn you nominate other bloggers you feel deserve recognition".

To be honest, I wasn't sure what to make of this at first. I was touched as Alisdair knows I struggle with blog writing - what to write, what would my readers like to know, how much of myself, if any,  is interesting to the rest of the world. I took this as a small (but not unwelcome) push to keeping blogging. Thank you, Alisdair. Then I noted that to accept the nomination, I would need to answer a number of questions devised by Alisdair and make up a few of my own to be answered by whoever I nominated. Yes! I love questions and answers. It's the only thing I'm good for at parties. So I googled on.

The guidelines for nominating a blog are confusing, mainly because there are so many versions with seemingly arbitrary rules thrown in for the heck of it. For instance, the number of readers the blog is allowed to have used to be fewer than 3,000 readers. Now that figure appears to be down to 200 readers. Some versions of the rules suggest you answer 11 questions and provide 11 random facts about yourself (too much information as far as this little black duck is concerned). One blogger insisted that you must write 150-200 words about the award itself.

Being a tad lazy and prone to anxiety if I think about things too much, I’m going to forget what I just googled and use the rules in Alisdair’s blog.

The rules:

1. Display an image of the award and write about your nomination.
2. Thank and link the person who nominated you for this award.
3. Answer the 11 questions prepared for you by the blogger who nominated you.
4. Nominate 5-11 awesome bloggers who you think deserve this award, and create 11 questions of your own for your nominees to answer.
5. List these guidelines in your blog post.

And now the fun part!

My answers to Alisdair's questions:

1. Who is your favourite James Bond, and why?
   Daniel Craig. I was dragged to every James Bond movie by a succession of partners and hated every James Bond until he came along. I first discovered Daniel Craig in an arthouse film, The Mother. I walked out thinking, "Who was that amazing actor?" I then watched him in Enduring Love and Layer Cake. Blown away each time. Came the day he was announced as Bond. Finally, the rest of the world had caught up.


2. Pride and Prejudice or Bridget Jones’ Diary?
   Pride and Prejudice. I love Bridget but Lizzie and company have been in my heart for too many years. I also love the television remake Lost In Austen which puts a whole new spin on the tale.


3. What was your favourite tv show as a kid?
   So many! If I were to narrow it down, it would be between Lost In Space and Rocky and Bullwinkle (mainly due to Fractured Fairy Tales and Mr Peabody) and The Bugs Bunny Show. And The Outer Limits. Also The Twilight Zone and The Wild, Wild West. See! Way too hard to pick just one out of all those years of being a kid.
   


4. What is your favourite tv show now?
   Penny Dreadful. However, it ended this week unexpectedly as the producers thought it was more in keeping with the Grand Guignol feel of the show to surprise viewers. Pfft! I am heartbroken. I cannot believe I will never see those characters in new adventures. The writing was inspired at times. The acting stupendous. The visuals lush and dark. Sigh. I guess it is back to Game Of Thrones for me. At least it has dragons and strong female characters.


5. What is your favourite city to visit? (Or the city you’d most like to visit if you haven’t been there yet.)
   I'd most like to visit Reykjavik, simply because Iceland is the country I would most like to visit. I've been obsessed with Iceland for years and this obsession has been fed recently by TV (e.g. Game of Thrones, Fortitude - sadly the same name as my novel, Trapped) and movies (e.g. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Interstellar). I'll get there one day.


6. You’ve just been captured by an evil villain. Who comes to your rescue?
   John Constantine aka Hellblazer. Or Arrow. Or both. Oh yes, that would be nice.


7. Night out on the town or night in?
   Definitely night in. I love a Saturday night hunkered down with the cat, a movie, and a glass of red wine.


8. What prompted you to start blogging?
   I thought it would be fun.


9. What motivates you to keep blogging?
   Hoping it will be fun and that I'll make a connection with like-minded individuals some day.


10. Who is your favourite author?
    I don't have a favourite author. Or I have too many favourites. Hmm. Let's see. Angela Carter. Edgar Allen Poe. Charles Bukowski. Ray Bradbury. Michael Moorcock.


11. What book has most influenced you?
    That's tricky. I guess it would have to be the book which first inspired me to write for publication. That would make it one of Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné series - possibly The Stealer of Souls? I read so many of those books in quick succession, I can't distinguish between them. More recently it would be Steven Pressfield's The War Of Art though I rarely look at it now.

My nominees for the Liebster Award

• Shannon McEwan - I discovered Shannon's blog when we both did the ‘Build Your Author Platform’ online course through the Australian Writers’ Centre.  It's because of Shannon I now know the word materteral. I have no idea what I will do with that knowledge.


• Amber Seah's 1880s Girl -  This is another blog I discovered via the the ‘Build Your Author Platform’ online course. Amber's passion for all things Victorian is truly infectious. Her posts are a joy with their charming images and often drily humorous exploration of bygone values and ideals.


• Elizabeth Foster's Musings - This is a very new blog but is already showing much promise. I love Elizabeth's gentle yet wise way of explaining her take on the art of writing.


• Andrew Christie's Painting The Bridge - Andrew has a laid back style of blogging which is humorous and more about food than writing. But who couldn't love a blog post titled "Spoiler Alert: Crime Stories Need Some Crime"?


• Bettina Deda - Bettina is an interior designer as well as an author so you get double the value here. She has wonderful blogs on developing your brand and building your brand from a design point of view. Well worth checking out.

11 questions for my Liebster Award Nominees, should you choose to accept the mission

1. Name the character from a book with whom you most resonate?
2. Have you ever walked out of a film? If so, what was it and why?
3. Who was your childhood hero/heroine?
4. Which book do you wish you'd written?
5. If you could time travel, where would you go and why?
6. What are your four favourite words?
7. What is the weirdest thing you've researched for any piece of writing? 
8. Which author has influenced you most?
9. What not-so-good book, TV show or movie is a guilty pleasure?
10. If you could bring anyone back from the dead, who would it be?
11. The world as we know it has ended. What killed it?

There is no pressure to accept the nomination for anyone who is nominated. Please take this how it is offered - as genuine appreciation for your blogging.