Thank you Bloggers!

Thank you to all the bloggers and our host B00kr3vi3ws, for not only your support of my book tour, but for your support throughout the year for all indie authors!

Liebster Award - Butterfly on a Broomstick

 
A big thank you to my online friend J Lenni Dorner for giving me and this blog my first Liebster Award! 

"I am the in-between. There is a whole-hearted embrace of technology, but it conflicts with the fact that I'd rather be up a tree in the middle of a forest dreaming in peace. I love food, but I can't cook it well- the technical term for my skill level is "water-burner." (Luckily, I'm happily married to a chef.) While I can appreciate fashion, my own wardrobe emphasizes on comfort and function. Photography is a pastime I find enjoyable, but my beliefs dictate that I cannot appear in pictures. Basically, I should time-travel back to the 1300's to live, but still be able to communicate with the modern world via my smartphone." ~ J Lenni Dorner

THE RULES:
Answer the 11 questions left for you
Nominate 11 more bloggers (not the person who nominated you, or the people that person nominated)
Leave them 11 questions for your nominees to answer
Thank and link back to the person who nominated you

The 11 Questions Lenni asked me:

1. What are your seven favorite books?
I don't have seven books, but I do have two authors whose books I have read many times - and you better not laugh too hard because they are at the opposite spectrum of the romance genre: Jane Austen and Maya Banks.

2. Who are your seven favorite twitter followers?
Jeff Joseph Author @author_jeff
Howard Roper @HowardRoper
Mackenzie Brown @mackbrownbooks
Sean Maxwell  @SeanMaxwell
Philip Catshill @PhilipCatshill
Shane O'Neill @ShaneKPONeill
Doug Simpson @1DougSimpson

Hmm...I noticed that they are all male - thanks, guys, you rock my twitter world!

3. What was the weirdest fortune cookie fortune you have seen?
In my part of the world, fortune cookies are not included in a chinese take-away meal, not for free anyway. So I usually go without.

4. What made you want to start blogging?
I thought it would be fun. It was only later that I learned that there are good and bad ways of doing it. Fortunately, I didn't start off too badly ;)

5. Which comment on your blog did you enjoy the most? (And who left it, and on what post?)
I am not going to single out a particular person, but I am going to mention the bloggers taking part in the recent April A to Z Challenge. They were awesome and many of their comments made me smile.

6. When did you know what you wanted to do with your life in regard to how you wish to be remembered?
This one does not have a single answer. As I grew older, my dreams changed, but while I was doing the things I had been involved it, I was living the life I wanted. Whether it was as an engineer, export consultant, business owner, project manager or published author. I live my life to please me, not any one else.

7. Are there any movies you are looking forward to seeing which premiere in 2014? (What are they and why are you looking forward to them?)
I have no idea what is on circuit right now, nor what is still coming this year. I am not much of a movie goer.

8. Do you now, or have you, had a living animal as a pet? (Tamagotchi doesn’t count.)
Yes. Since I got married and lived in a place where we could keep pets, we have had German Shepherd dogs. I love big dogs, but am particularly fond of the breed. Right now we have three, two females and a male.

9. If you had to perform in a little talent show next week, what would your talent be?
I would be the one organising the event ;)  But if I have to, I would dig out my bow and shoot arrows at people with apples on their heads.

10. What would your response be if a new friend proved to you that you aren’t human?
Cool! I always wanted to be an alien shape-shifter.

11. What is your favorite mythical creature without human attributes?
Dragon. I have two dragons keeping me company while I write. They sit on the bookshelf right next to my desk. I have been thinking though, that perhaps they needed another friend. Did I mention that I love dragons?

11 Questions for the 11 people I am nominating:
1.  What are the five things/activities you simply cannot do without?

2.  If your home caught fire, name the five things you will try to rescue? (loved ones are number six)

3.  What made you want to start blogging?

4.  Which comment on your blog did you enjoy the most? (And who left it, and on what post?)

5.  What was your experience in doing the A to Z Blog Challenge in April 2014?

6.  When did you know what you wanted to do with your life in regard to how you wish to be remembered?

7.  Do you now, or have you, had a living animal as a pet?

8.  If you had to perform in a little talent show next week, what would your talent be?

9.  What would your response be if a new friend proved to you that you aren’t human?
10. If there was one mythical character that you would like to have tea with, who would it be and why?
11. If there was one supernatural power that you could have for 24 hrs, which one would it be and what would you do with it? 

11 People I am nominating:

Vanessa Wright
Laura Scott
Tonia Hurst
Laura Hile
Natalie Rivener
Marcio Coelho
Red O'Laughlin
Carmen Botman
Richard T Wheeler
Stella Myers
Roslynn Pryor


This is so much fun, I can't wait to see what each person comes up with! ☺  

Versatile Blogger Award

I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award by Kevin at Cooking Athanasia.Thank you very much for the award Kevin!

 

The Rules for the Award are as Follows:

1. Add the Versatile Blogger Award badge to a post.
2. Thank the person who presented you with the award and link back to him or her in you post.
3. Share seven things about yourself.
4. Pass the award to 15 other bloggers. Contact the chosen bloggers to let them know about the award.

Seven things about me:

1. I have trained as an electronics engineer, but had specialised in two fields: electromagnetic compatibility and intrinsic safety. Since receiving my masters degree in engineering management, I had owned my own consulting business for ten years before I had to give it up for economic reasons. Since then I have been working as a project manager for Denel Land Systems.

2. I have several hobbies that do not include books! I love archery and own a compound bow. My husband likes to do all kinds of photography and had taken several pictures where I had shot at waterfilled balloons and apples. I also like to do counted cross-stitch, and have gotten my mother interested in it as well. Although I prefer large projects, more than 40 000 stitches, I have been known to do the odd birthday card for a friend or family member. I designed and stitched an anniversary sampler for my in-laws' 40th a few years back, where hubby and I combined our passions for the project.

3. I love fly fishing. Never seem to have much time to do that though.

4. I am a huge Manchester United fan and captain of a Superbru group, called The Broomstick Gang, where a few of my colleagues and I challenge each other during the English Premier League season.

5. I paint abstracts in acrylics and mixed media, and my present project is a canvas almost as tall as I am! It was inspired by the water lily design by Frank Lloyd-Wright from a book that I had bought at a book sale. My design utilises an abstract that I had drawn from one of my orchids.

6. I keep two journals: one for my writing and a personal journal. I often print advice from other blogs about writing and then glue it into my writing journal. I dislike scrapbooking, although I do decorate my writing journal with stickers and sometimes a pencil drawing. This year my journal has a butterfly theme. My personal journal, well that's personal :)

7. My first love remains reading and writing. I started my first story in 2001 and have recently had a relook at maybe publishing it. It will need to much of a rewrite to make it worthwhile, but not all of my first stories are going into the trash. As soon as I finish the third novel in the Nations of Peace Series, I will revisit one or two of my earlier projects.

My nominees: (the list is not extensive, but these sites are well worth the effort of a visit)

1. The Creative Penn by Joanna Penn

2. The Writers Digest by Brian Klems

3. The Sinner Author by Charity Parkerson

4. Writing with Kristine Cayne by Kristine Cayne

5. Rachelle's Window by Rachelle Ayala

6. Awesome Romance Novels by Donna Fasano

7. Independent Author Index by Faydra Deon