The lovely, soon-to-be published Tamara over at Chasing Dreams bestowed my second blog award--The Honest Scrap. I blush, I swoon.... Seriously though, it was a wonderful treat to be so honored when I'm the new kid in this corner of the blogosphere.That said, I'm going to bend the award rules a bit and name just a handful blogs, largely because I haven't yet ventured terribly far in writer-blog land. I'm working on it, folks. The introvert in me has a hard time doing something so forward as commenting.
So here goes. My nominees for the Honest Scrap are:
Candice, Suffering from Writer's Blog. She only posts weekly, but doggone is she hilarious and often touching, too. This post on the misuse of "literally" had me laughing so hard my ribs ached.
Heidi, Some Mad Hope. Her debut novel launches next week, and it looks riveting--a family's diabetic daughter develops an insulin allergy, and their best hope for a cure puts them at odds with their small town's conservative religious community.
Robyn, Putting Pen to Paper. I enjoy hearing about Robyn's life as much as her musings on writing and faith. I'll go dust off my Breyer models now and try to stop jonesing her horses.
Shannon, Book Dreaming. I think this is her third nomination, and deservedly so. She is a terrific encourager and asks great questions on her posts that spark some lively interactions. I've met a number of my most recent followers through her.
Apparently this award stipulates that I also share ten things about myself. So here goes.
1. I'm managing editor of a scholarly journal on modernist literature. This means I get to read some pretty cool scholarly work on the greats of the 20th century: Joyce, Woolf, Faulkner, Hemingway, Pound, Yeats, Beckett. I also have to copy edit the most egregious run-on sentences imaginable. And I get lots of e-mail calling me Dr. Garver, which is my philosophy professor hubby, you silly people.
2. I've nearly forgotten how to cook, because my husband has been the chef for the past 11 years.
3. My gateway drug to writing was...Dungeons and Dragons. Eek, gasp, run for the hills! I started playing in 7th grade--it was an enrichment activity we did in the gifted program at school. I continued to play on and off over the years, up until about two years ago. I liked to cross-stitch between bouts of smiting evil.
4. I played mallet percussion in high school (xylophone, bells, marimba, etc.) and marched in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin my junior year.
5. Besides being a band geek, I was also a choir geek, art club geek, lit mag geek and theater geek.
6. Speaking of geeking out, I love geeky TV like Dr. Who (especially the most recent incarnation) Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. However...
7. I haven't read much Sci Fi or fantasy in about 15 years. Back in the day, I was ga-ga over Frank Herbert's Dune series and Anne McCaffrey's Pern books. At the moment, I prefer realistic fiction with psychologically complex characters and relationships.
8. I've only been a bridesmaid once, but I've sung in almost a dozen weddings.
9. From just a few bars of music, I can "name that tune"--and artist--for just about any pop song from the early to mid 80s. I was a "Top 40 countdown" addict in my teen years.
10. My favorite author is Susan Howatch. Her most recent St. Benet's series (The Wonder Worker, The High Flyer, The Heartbreaker) has intense plots and deep characterization, pulls no punches about the nature of evil and our own capacity for self-deception, and delivers mind-blowingly redemptive denouements. I want to write books for teenagers that are like hers.
Laurel,
ReplyDeleteAwesome about your chef husband--that's every girl's dream, or at least this girl's. My hubby finally started cooking after 18 years of marriage when I went back to work. He's not bad actually, to his own surprise. I can't complain, he also does his own laundry.
I'll check out your author. Always looking for good recommendations.
Laurel - I cannot believe how much we have in common! My husband (who was a major D&D addict)does all the cooking at my house (and has for the past 11 years). I was a band geek and I adore Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica - my hubby and I saw every episode of the current remake. Pretty cool, huh?
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind things you said about my blog. I rolled with laughter over that same "literally" post at Candice's - so funny! I'm thrilled you've become a part of our circle of friends. ;-)
Thank you so much, I'm going to go add this to my post. :) You have such a cool job! And I'm a total watcher of geek tv those shows are the best!
ReplyDeleteLaurel, congratulations on your award, my friend. And thank you so much. This is such an honor. Thank you, thank you! Coming from someone I respect so much, is truly spectacular.
ReplyDeleteAnd hey! Breyer horses are cool too. :) And so are geeks. :)
Elle: He sees cooking as his creative outlet, so it's a real win-win all around!
ReplyDeleteHowatch's work is pretty edgy, but also deeply spiritual. The series I mentioned revolves around a healing ministry at an Anglican church in London.
Shannon: We sure do. It is cool. I also have a Montana connection--I'm named after the small town near Billings where my dad grew up.
ReplyDeleteCandice: My job does have its less exciting moments (like anything), but I am learning loads about literature and enjoy working with scholars from around the world.
ReplyDeleteSci fi shows seem to make up a bulk of our Netflix queue these days. Have you seen the short-lived but awesome show Firefly?
Robyn: Aw, shucks, I'm blushing over here.
ReplyDeleteNow that I'm a city girl, I'm pretty sure the dear old Breyers are the only equines I'll ever own. Can't ride 'em, but less manure. :-)
Late to the party, but...
ReplyDeleteYay! Congrats on another award! They're fun, aren't they? Not to mention you don't have to worry about coming up with an enlightening and writing-specific blog post for the day...
(Is now the time to confess that I was a D&D geek for a while too? Or will that mar my manly online reputation?)