Category Archives: Blog Awards

The HUG Award – Krista Magrowski, Jon Gibbs, Danielle Ackley McPhail

Posted on April 15, 2012 | 4 Comments
A few weeks ago (okay, it was almost a month ago — sorry) Jenny Keller Ford bestowed on me the Hug Award.  This is a very special award, and I am happy and proud to have received it.  Hugs back to Jenny, a phenomenal writer with a huge future ahead of her.
Since this is lengthy, I am cutting and pasting the particulars of this award from Jenny Keller Ford’s post below.

My winners for the Hug award are:

Krista Magrowski:  Krista runs my Writers Group, and she keeps an open and encouraging atmosphere where writers can exchange ideas and cheer each other on.

Jon Gibbs:  Jon Gibbs is the founder of the New Jersey Authors Network.  He sponsors talks frequently where published writers can meet up with  aspiring authors to encourage them and answer questions.

Danielle Ackley McPhail:  I met Danielle at a New Jersey Authors Network talk, and she made me realize things about myself that I didn’t know were there… (whether she knew it or not)  Danielle speaks publicly to encourage other writers not to give up.  Her bright bubbly attitude is truly an inspiration.

Congratulations, and thank you for all you do to encourage others.

There is much content affiliated with The Hug Award, and while it is lengthy and seems a bit extensive to me, I do not want to maim or corrupt its potent message by leaving anything out.

Please do not change or use another image for the HUG Award Image©.  Please do not alter–by changing, shortening, or adding to–the text about the award and how to share it with others.  Either copy the entire article as it is on this page, or please include a link back to this article, when you post on your blog or share award with others.

I ask you to please honor this request and help me keep the integrity of the award as originally designed, so that future award recipients will know what an honor it is to receive this award.  Thank you, Connie Wayne

ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES for HUG AWARD©

“Hope is an expectant desire; a confidence in a future event; a ground for trust and confidence; to think; to look forward to with trust and expectant desire.”

The HUG Award© was initiated by Connie Wayne at A Hope for Today athttp://ahopefortoday.com, which promotes hope, love, peace, equality, and unity for all people.

The HUG Award© is for people with an expectant desire for the world, for which they:  Hope for Love; Hope for Freedom; Hope for Peace; Hope for Equality; Hope for Unity; Hope for Joy and Happiness; Hope forCompassion and Mercy; Hope for Faith; Hope for Wholeness and Wellness; Hope for Prosperity; Hope for Ecological Preservation; Hope for Oneness

The HUG Award© recognizes and honors those who help keep hope alive in our current world, which is plagued by war, natural disasters, and economic recession.  They nurture hope, in any of the above areas (in italics),  by the work they do, or in their personal lives with things such as blogging, public speaking,charity work, etc.

The HUG Award© is for anyone, anywhere in the world, who meets theguidelines and wants to be nominated for the award. Please leave a comment on this page if you are interested in receiving this award, or if you would like to nominate someone else for the award.

The HUG Award© is for people who, without giving up or compromising their own religious, spiritual, or political beliefs, are able to nurture hope and respect the dignity of all people.

The HUG Award© is for those who, without bias or prejudice, use their resources and gifts to make the world a better place for everyone.

The HUG Award©is for people who have a hope or an expectant desire that the work or talents they use in things such as blogging, public speaking, charity work, etc., will make a positive impact on the world.

These people do not have to actively use the word “hope” in their work or creative talents.  They only need be conscious of their desire to make the world a better place for everyone.

These people use their available resources–a smile, a hug, a helping hand, a listening ear, a voice, time, money, possessions, education, personality, talent, websites and blogs—to make a positive impact on the world and make the world a better place to live.

The HUG Award© is not specifically a website or blog award.  It can be given to people in your community, at your employment, at your place of worship, etc.  Please make sure they have a copy of these Guidelines, and please don’t forget to submit their names back to this site.

HUG AWARD© IMAGE for RECIPIENTS of HUG AWARD

HUG Award© Image:   Those who receive the HUG Award© may paste a copy of the original HUG Award© image into an Image widget on their website or blog by simply copying and pasting the following image URL into an Image widget:   http://hopesfortoday.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/hug-award1.png.  As the link URL for the image, please inserthttp://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/.

GUIDELINES for NOMINATING OTHERS FOR THE HUG AWARD©

1.  If you receive a HUG Award©, you may nominate others who also meet the above guidelines for the award.  You may nominate as many people, websites, or blogs as you want to nominate to receive the award.  I do ask that, upon receipt of the award, you nominate at least one other person.  The award is also not time limited, so you can nominate new people or sites you encounter in the future.  Please try not to nominate those who have already received the award.

2.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONTACTING YOUR NOMINEESand telling them you nominated them for the  HUG Award©.  AND when you contact them…

3.  Please link this page:  When you contact your nominees for the award, please include a link to this page,http://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/, so they will have the same information you received about the award.  Then, they also can perpetuate the award by nominating others.  AND…

4.  Please post a comment on this page athttp://ahopefortoday.com/2012/01/14/hope-unites-globally-hug-award-guidelines/ with the name and the complete website or blog address of the site(s) or person(s) you nominate.

5.  If you know, I would appreciate you informing me of the geographical location of your nominee(s) and /or their site(s).

6.  Social Media Sites: You may also copy and paste unchanged copies of the original HUG Award© and HUG Award© Guidelines’ wording to other social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin.  You may also print original copies for your personal use for display, etc.

7.  You may print a copy of the HUG Award© Guidelines for people you nominate, who do not have a website, blog, or social media account to which they can paste award and Guidelines.  If they have email, you may email them a copy of the original HUG Award© and original Hug Award© Guidelines.

The people I have nominated for this award seek to do Good with their blogs by sharing inspiration, kindness, and courage. If you have already received this, please just accept that I appreciate you. Thank you.

 

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And the winners are? – The Sunshine Awards Flash Fiction Contest – Read and pic your favorite

Posted on April 8, 2012 | 9 Comments

Wow, I really love these three entries.  These guys put a lot of thought into this.

I am so glad that I can give the award to all three of them, so here is your little flowers badge ladies!  Thanks for playing!

Just for fun, I am going to open this up for voting.  It doesn’t matter who wins, but which one do you guys think is the best?  Give your favorite a click!

Entry from the Lovely Ms Erin

The late August sunshine filtered through the leaves, playing patterns over her face. Sweat glistened on her forehead and pasted the grey tank-top to her back. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she peered into the viewfinder of her Nikon. It was worth it to brave the southern summer heat for this. She adjusted the focus on the zoom lens until the object of her attention came into sharp focus. She smiled.

Note from me:  Wow, what a visual.  I totally see this!

The entry from the Lovely Ms Beth

He’d been following her since daybreak.   It was not for a full mile past the ribbon stall that she laughed aloud, tickled as a little boy chased his sister with a bug-eyed fish.

He hastened to snatch the vial from his threadbare cloak and collect the threads of shimmering yellow that danced before his eyes, invisible to all but him.   Once it was a third full he stopped it up with the cork and stored it in his pouch.

The Master would be pleased. At long last, he had succeeded in his final test.  He had bottled sunshine.

Note from  me:  Fantastic concept

Add the entry from the talented and gutsy Wendy Reid

Huddled behind a jetting outcrop, she pressed her knees to her chest so hard that her muscles ached. Shoulders hunched against the frigid cold of the moonlit desert, she put her hands up to her ears in the hopes to stop the cold wind from entering her head. The sand under her bottom was bitter cold and hard as ice, a far cry from it’s daylight properties.

Facing Eastward, she watched as the orange ball slowly appeared over the horizon. Nikki had never been happier to see the sun shine and feel the heat of its rays.

Note from me:  Oh, this sounds so much like the start or middle of something good.  This one had me wanting more.  I mean really wanting more.  Nicely done, Wendy.

If you like spicy adult recreational reading material, check out Wendy’s collection of short shorts called BEDTIME STORIES on Amazon.

For an intense read, for the not-so faint at heart, check out Wendy’s suspense novel:  A MOTHER’S LOVE on Amazon.

Okay, so here we go.  Which entry was your favorite?

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Sunshine Award – Can you be sunny? Enter to win!

Posted on April 1, 2012 | 22 Comments

A big thank you to Dana at MomsLifePonderings for nominating me for the Sunshine award!

Hop on over to Dana’s site.  It’s a nice read that I can totally relate to as a mom.

Well, here are the rules for this award.  Pretty standard.  (Actually a few of these I could photocopy and just change the names of the awards, but that’s okay.)

1) Thank the person who gave you this award and link back to them in your post. CHECK

2) Tell us some things about yourself.   SEE BELOW

3) Nominate 10 bloggers.   I’ll Get to that

4) Contact these bloggers and let them know they have received this award.  Ummm… They usually find out before I get to that.

A few things about myself that I haven’t told you already:

1) My oldest fish just died.  Three pounds of black and white spotted butterfly koi wonder.  RIP Oreo.

2) I have to shave my dog.  I can’t get the matts out of her hair.  (Sorry Chloe)

3) My husband just dyed his hair blonde.  Yeah, I don’t get it either.

4) I need to lose ten pounds.  All in my thighs (the writer’s curse)

5) No matter how much I try, I just cannot use Brought or Bought correctly.

So, I guess I have to find some Bloggers that bring some sunshine into my life.  So, Who’s sunny?  What does it actually mean to be sunny anyway?

Let’s try something new.  Anyone want a blog award?

Post 100 words or less (Flash Fiction) in the comments below.  The only rule is you have to use the word Sunshine.  If you just want to describe sunshine in a really beautiful way, that’s fine, too.   The ten best win.

Oh!  This sounds like fun!

I’ll announce the winners next week, but if less than ten people respond, everyone wins.  Yay!  Have fun!

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Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Posted on March 25, 2012 | 9 Comments

The lovely Char From Joy in the Moments recently bestowed the honor of “Inspirational Blogger” on me.

I had a giggle.  It is really nice that someone finds me inspiring.  Blog awards are so nice.  They always make me grin.

The caption says “Keeping the Blogisphere a beautiful place.”  Hmmmm.  Makes me want to recycle or something.

Thank you so much, Char for thinking of me.

Everyone hop on over to Char’s blog and give her a cyber-hug for me.

The rules of this award are to tell you seven things, and then pass on the love.

Hmmm.  I recently answered seven random questions for another award.  Let’s think of something new.

1.  My roof finally got fixed.  I have a ceiling in my office again. Yay!

2. My sons decided to quit Wrestling.  (YEEESSSS!)

3. I keep procrastinating against signing Chloe (my poodle) up for Agility Training.  I’m enjoying being “sport free” at the moment.

4. My hair is naturally straight.  But it hasn’t been straight in 15 years.

5.  There is nothing more relaxing than watching Max swim around trying to get my attention.  He’s in my office.  Chloe likes to chase him.  Max is a Koi by the way.  You can see him swimming behind Eric in the Video Book review Eric did for me.  (He’s the big white one who hangs out on the right of the screen for the first :57 seconds)

6.  I love stationary, even though I don’t use it anymore.  I just love a few good pretty sheets of paper.  It’s a shame I don’t write with ink anymore.

7.  My husband just lost something like 65 pounds.  I feel like I’m cheating with this hot young stud.  Tee Hee.  He wants a washboard stomach by summer.  I’m not complaining.

Okay… Who inspires me?

I have to put Jenny Keller Ford on the top of th list, because she’s the one who cajoled me into starting a blog.  Apparently she thought I would have something to say.  I hate a writing partner whose always right, don’t you?

Brenda Drake.  Brenda is a thorn in my side because I’ve never met a contest I don’t like, and Brenda keeps taunting me with them.  There are no monetary prizes, and I’ve never won.  But she’s the one who cracked the deadline whip on me the first time, and taught me to pace myself.

Well… I’m supposed to give you seven, and although I read TONS of blogs that I enjoy, these are the only two who I can say genuinely INSPIRE me in one way or another.  So, rather than just picking one out of a hat, there you go.

Check out these lovely ladies… but watch that Brenda.  She’ll rope you into a contest, I guarantee it.

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Lucky Seven Meme

Posted on March 18, 2012 | 9 Comments

Okay, here is a new one.  It’s really an Authors game, and this is kind of fun.  I was tagged by my buddy, amazing soon-to-be published author Jenny Keller Ford.

Here’s the rules of engagement:

1.  Go to page 77 of your current manuscript or WIP

2.  Go to line 7.  Copy down the next seven  sentences as they are written.  No Cheating!

3.  Tag 7 authors and pass on the Lucky Seven Meme

Well, My current Whirlwind WIP is a 35 page novelette, so I will defer to my first love, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.  Here is an excerpt, fitting the parameters above.  You are about to enter the demented mind of my villain, as he decides to murder my beloved Main Character:

It was an odd sensation, being warmed by the sudden dark of a freak storm, but he welcomed it.  His father always said that the weather reacted to Castillia’s mood.  The sudden exhilaration must be her touch.  She was calling him, and he answered.  The darkness was not to be feared; it made him stronger.  It gave him the final strength to do what he knew must be done for the greater good.

Outside the window, Magellan and Meagan took shelter from the storm under a tree, huddling closely beneath its branches.  Stephen grimaced in disgust as Meagan rested her head on the snit’s shoulder.  The anger inside him boiled. 

First of all, be sure to hop on over to read  Jenny Keller Ford‘s brilliant excerpt from “In the Shadow of the Dragon King”.

I am officially tagging a few people just to see what their WIP’s look like.

Gloria Richards http://gloriarichard.wordpress.com/ No!  You cannot let Brinda do it for you!

Brinda Berry (Okay, so– you just released your second novel.  I know you must have book three drafted.  Give us a sliver!)

Tristan http://sanguinestream.wordpress.com/

Cara Olsen http://thislittlelight516.wordpress.com/

Florence http://ramblingsfromtheleft.wordpress.com/

Sherry Isaac http://sherryisaac.com/

Dianne Wilson http://diannejwilson.wordpress.com/

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Liebster Blog Award! The Love Just Keeps on Flowing!

Posted on February 17, 2012 | 15 Comments

Uber thanks to the incredibly talented Jenny Keller Ford for gracing me with the Liebster Blog award.

She said the nicest thing to me when she awarded this:

In order to thank you for all you do, I’m awarding you the Liebster Blog Award.     I couldn’t have come this far without your help.  I owe you so much.

This made me feel super special… especially since this is the wonderful lady who convinced me to start a blog in the first place.

Being incredibly anal as I am.  I looked up “Liebster” to see if I could find out who this guy was so I could decipher the true meaning of this award.  Well… I couldn’t find anything.  Not even who the original “Liebster” was.  (At least give me an “A” for effort)

What did come up over and over again was a bunch of German words.  Hey, you know what?  My Dad was German (He was dern proud of that too.)  See Dad!  I won a German award!  I did amount to something!

So, anyway… I did a little more digging and found out that “Liebster” is a word from my Daddy’s fatherland and it translates loosely to “favorite” or something endearing for a loved one, like “dearest”.

Cool, huh?  Hugs back, Jenny!

This award is set aside for up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.

(Gack… I just got in under the wire when she awarded this to me, or I would have had to decline.  I actually had 199 followers this day… she must have been psychic.  I’m happy to say I’m well past being eligible after sitting on this for a week.)

Hello all new followers!

Hello all old followers.

Ummmm… Hello young followers?

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Awe, heck… why single anyone out…

Hi everybody!

So, back to the award… Here are the rules:

1.Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog. **CHECK**

2.Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you. **CHECK**

3.Copy and paste the blog award on your blog. ***YOU’RE READING IT, AREN’T Cha?***

4.Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve. **Coming up!**

5.Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.  ***Ummmm…. eventually…. If they don’t find out here, first***

In the tradition Of the lovely Ms. Jenny Keller Ford, I am going to award this to blogs that I learn from.  Here are five people with under 200 followers that I think deserve WAY more.

Gloria Richard

Brinda Berry

Natalie Hartford

Roger Colby

Robin Weeks (She has 204 followers, but I sat on this for a while.  Are the Blog police gonna come get me? Oh, well.  I’m such a rebel)

Everyone take a hop over to these blogs.  They are really great, and definitely worth a “follow”.

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A blog Award I’ve never even heard of! Honorable Mentions and Winners!

Posted on February 11, 2012 | 21 Comments

Here’s a new one.  I guess this blog award hasn’t reached into the writer’s realm much, because I’ve never heard of it.  This is the “Awesome Blog Content” award.  How cool is that?  I was given this by Mid Life Ranting.  What I found interesting, was that of the six blogs chosen, I was the only one that focused on writing, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Jump on over to Mil Life Ranting’s blog to see the other great blogs that were chosen.  It is a really diverse group.  Thanks so much for including me!

Well, like so many of these awards, they want to pick your brain and give out personal info.  This one wants you to do it alphabetically.

In other words, I have to describe myself using every letter of the alphabet.

Ugh.  Here we go.

Artistic, Astute

Brunette

Creative

Dogmatic

Energetic

Flippant

Generous

Happy

Impatient

Jaunty

Kind

Loving

Motherly

Nonchalant

Opinionated

Pleasantly perfectly pathetic

Quintessent

Rustic

Sassy

Tremulous

Ubiquitous.  Just ask my kids

Vivacious

Willful

X… Does Generation X count?

Yutz… I don’t know.  You got me on that one.

Zealous

 

Now… I just need to write that all out in a paragraph… Just kidding!

What I do need to do is bestow this honor on six more unfortunate ummm… lucky bloggers.  I’ve done this a lot lately, and I don’t want to pick the same people all the time.  So what I am going to do is look through the new people who’ve joined my blog since the last time I visited every one of my followers for the Versatile Blogger award.  I will read through them all and pick the ones with the best content.

Wait!  Ugh.  I just looked at my stats.  That’s a lot of blogs to look through.  ERghhh.  How do I get myself into these things?  (Because you take this stuff too seriously, idiot)

Okay… Reading, Reading, Reading.

This is why it’s taken me DAYS to respond to this award.

Reading , Reading, Commenting, Reading.

Oh!  There’s a good one.  Commenting.

Reading, Reading, Commenting.

Hmmm.  I like that one, too.

Reading… Oh!  This one’s always great.  Commenting.

Reading, Reading.   Oooooooo.   Like the pictures.   Reading.   Commenting.

Okay!  I’ve got it—  The list of the best of the best as far as “Awesome Blog Content” (From people who have joined my blog in the last month)

As last time, I made a list of everyone I liked, and then drilled it down to the winning six.

http://joanleacott.wordpress.com/

http://journeyofjordannaeast.wordpress.com/

http://commutinggirl.wordpress.com/

http://thislittlelight516.wordpress.com/

http://adrianaryan.com/  Author Interviews

http://ramblingsfromtheleft.wordpress.com/

http://kerrimaniscalco.com/

http://carrierubin.com/

http://tiyanamariewhite.com/

http://quillwielder.com/

http://emmameade.com/

http://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/

Congratulations, guys.

Everyone hop… ummm… click over and give these people a look.

Great blogs and interesting content.

Spread the joy!

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7 x 7 Link Blog Award

Posted on February 5, 2012 | 23 Comments

It’s been a very award winning season for me.  No more pouting when I see these lovely tags on other’s blogs.  Now I have quite a collection of my own!

I was granted the 7×7 award by the lovely and talented Ms. jmmcdowell.  Check out her blog.  Archaeologist by day, novel diva by night.  Thanks so much for the nod!

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The Rules — 7 x 7 Link Award

  1. Thank the person who gave you the award.  (Check)
  2. Write a post about it.  (Ummm. Doing that now.  Check)
  3. Answer 7 questions about yourself.  (Erghh.  See below)
  4. Link to 7 of your own posts: Most Surprisingly Successful, Most Underrated, Most Popular, Most Beautiful, Most Helpful, Most Controversial and Most Pride-Worthy
  5. Pass the award along to 7 bloggers who you think deserve it

10 Questions:

Favorite color: As girly as it is, I’ve recently become extremely fond of pink.  In a house with 4 men, it’s the only way to claim something as mine.

Favorite animal:  I have a big floppy poodle sleeping on my foot.  She’s cool, but it would probably be a tie with my wonderful koi.  (You can see a few of my koi swimming behind Eric in yesterday’s video.  The rest are in heated ponds outside) Chloe’s going to be tested for Canine Good Citizen some time this week when the AKC confirms.  If there was a test for fish, I’d give it to my koi.

Favorite number:  If I told you that… I’d have to kill you.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink:  Gatorade  Has to be green, and cut 50% with water

Facebook or Twitter?  I’m not terribly fond of either, but I am addicted to my email.

My passion:  Writing and teaching.  I love creating new worlds, or maybe just escaping this one.

Getting or giving presents?  I love watching the expression on someone’s face when they open a special present.  Christmas videos are classic just for this.

Favorite pattern:  Swirly swishes.  If you don’t know what this is, look for some dividers in my blog.

Favorite day of the week: Thursday.  Only one day left before I can sleep.

Favorite flower: I’m rather fond of daylilies… The big exotic (expensive) ones… not the yellow ones you see everywhere.  I’m pretty fond of the water lillies in my pond, too.

Okay… that wasn’t all that hard.  This will be though.

7 Posts in the following categories:

Most Surprisingly Successful:  Sucking out your creativity…Cancer

Most Underrated:  Book Review of Throne

Most Popular:  I had to look this up, Funny, my most popular all-time post is the Kreativ Blogger award and Honorable mentions.  That one is still drawing people in.  Maybe because I listed so many great blogs to check out, people keep coming back.  Not sure.

Most Beautiful:  Art of Conflict.  I don’t know, I just love the way that one looks with all the images.

Most Helpful:  Any of the Gold Mine Manuscript Series.  Everyone seems to get a lot out of those

Most Controversial:  Tee Hee.  It’s sitting in my queue.  It’s called “The dreaded F-Bomb”  Some day, I will publish it.  I Promise.

Most Pride-Worthy:  Pride is a bad thing.  I don’t feel prideful about anything.  However, I was happy that I could make a friend feel better in “Don’t take it out on your Beta Reader“

This was actually a really cool exercise.  I never went back before to see what my popular posts were.  I found it funny to see that many of my first posts only had 1-2 views TOTAL.  I may have to re-post some of the better ones.  It was neat, though, to see my numbers going up over time.

Okay.  There seems to be no criteria at all for this award, so since I have been hanging around my stats anyway, I am going to award this to the top commenters on my blog, and a few new cyber-friends who recently joined in the fun.  This is my “Thank you” for making my blog a warm and cozy place to hang out.

Jenny Keller Ford

Gloria Richard

Kristina Stanley

Hutch

Natalie Hartford

Brinda Berry

Diana Murdock

Kirsten

Okay, so that’s eight… not seven. 
I’m a writer not a mathematician gosh dern it!

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More Blog Awards!

Posted on January 21, 2012 | 8 Comments

JMMcdowel just graced me with the “One Lovely Blog” award.  This is a nice one, because I will not have to spend all weekend researching who I should give it to.  Thanks so much!  Everyone please go and give JM a visit to bask in the lovelyness.

This one is an easy one for me, because I just visited 140 of my wonderful followers’ blogs searching for ones that were “creative”.  The one who stood out in my mind as “Lovely” belongs to the lovely and talented Natalie Hartford… and the pink will look “Lovely” on her Website.

Natalie’s blog is not only striking, but has a very professional appeal while keeping her whimsical tone (Warning:  Her post tonight is not whimsical, but that just shows her diversity.)

Please jump over to Natalie’s Sight, and wave some pink Pom Poms and sprinkle hot-pink fairy dust all over her in congratulations.

I was also re-blessed with the Kreativ Blogger award, and the Versatile Blogger award from the talented Whitney Carter  tonight (Who I could not find on Twitter.  Are you out there?)  Thanks, Whitney.  Jump on over to Whitney’s sight as well and give her a big hello from me.

Amend 1-22-12 :  I was awarded the Versatile Blogger award once more from Story Multiverse.  Quite a week for me.  Please hop over there and check out that blog as well.  Thanks so much!

Now, after several hours of watching my children in a wrestling match, I am off to bed.  Everyone is asleep but me.  Even my pampered poodle is asleep on the floor beside me.  My pillow is definitely calling me.

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Kreativ Blogger Winners – And a bunch of honorable mentions

Posted on January 7, 2012 | 37 Comments

Wow…. Next time I promise to look at 126 blogs someone SMACK ME.

This was fun, though.

Can I say one thing?  Guys, please… if you are just blogging for the fun of it, disregard this comment.  However, if you are building a brand, you should really think about what your blog looks like, as well as the content.

Some of these blogs may be wonderful, but if it looks boring, there is less of a chance for someone to read it.

For the 30 or so of you with the same theme… the exact same row of books in your header… immediate disqualification.  BORING.  Would you want an agent to go to your blog and have it look just like the other ten blogs they looked at that day?  Think about it. That’s not the only theme I saw over and over, but it was the most abused used.

The first time I saw my theme replicated (The Koi theme) I cringed.  The next time I saw it, I dumped it… even though I loved it.  I didn’t want to go through that annoyance again, so I built my own theme.  Be creative.  Don’t be like everyone else.

So, with that in mind… Here is my list of “honorable mentions”

This is everyone who I at least stopped on and looked around for a little bit.  It could have been for any reason.  The color, the name of the blog, the originality.  There was something about the VISUAL of the first glance that made me stop.  You managed to grab my interest.  One of you even tempted me into downloading your novel.

If you are not on this list, consider taking a look at your blog… not necessarily the content, but the overall “look”.  (Note:  I may not have placed you on the honorable mention list if you recently won this award.)

http://articlesofabsurdity.com/

http://justsimplyinlove.wordpress.com/

http://angelaquarles.com/  —- I’ve seen this background too many times… but the turtle drew me in.

http://nilaewhite.wordpress.com/

http://kristinnador.wordpress.com/

http://automonous.wordpress.com/

http://louisebehiel.com/

http://catherinemjohnson.wordpress.com/

http://couldhavebeenhollywood.com/blog/

http://jabberw00kie.wordpress.com/

http://myotherbookisatolstoy.wordpress.com/

http://nascentnovelist.wordpress.com/

http://mjmonaghan.wordpress.com/

http://alchemyofscrawl.wordpress.com/

http://andyswordsandpictures.wordpress.com/

http://suehealy.org/

http://rebeccaberto.wordpress.com/

http://theatheleseries.wordpress.com/

http://chickswithticks.wordpress.com/

http://authorlmgil.wordpress.com/

http://derekberry.wordpress.com/ –WORD SALAD.  Love the title

http://thedailywoman.wordpress.com/

http://kristykjames.wordpress.com/

http://jimrosswriting.wordpress.com/–would win if I hadn’t seen this backdrop so many times (It’s pretty, though which is why so many people use it.

http://raelynbarclay.wordpress.com/ - same as above.  This was my first blog backdrop.  LOVED IT…until I came across 12 more people using it.

http://augustmclaughlin.wordpress.com/

http://littlemisseverything.wordpress.com/

http://alexlaybourne.com/

http://mynovelmyblog.wordpress.com/

http://dianamurdock.wordpress.com/ - I downloaded her novel tonight

http://mistressofthedarkpath.wordpress.com/

http://showard76.wordpress.com/

http://gloriarichard.wordpress.com/

http://jennykellerford.wordpress.com/

http://lizakane.me/

http://cbwentworth.wordpress.com/

Luckily for me, I won this award three times this week, so I get to choose 18 winners.

Here they are.  The most creative out of my 126 current followers (In no particular order).

http://nataliehartford.com

http://serenadracis.wordpress.com/

http://whitneycarter.wordpress.com/

http://sanguinestream.wordpress.com

http://thewildpomegranate.com/

http://susanscribes.wordpress.com/

http://foodiebloger.wordpress.com/

http://postadaychallenge2011.com/

http://morganjauncey.com/

http://anyakelleye.wordpress.com/

http://kanatyler.com/

http://thesendeksaga.wordpress.com/

http://shelleyszajner.wordpress.com/

http://ironwoodwind.wordpress.com/

http://snagglewordz.com/

http://myrandommuse.wordpress.com/

http://lsmurphy.com/

http://www.paigekellerman.com/

Of the list above the best by far for brand-building is http://sanguinestream.wordpress.com

The art really gives you a feel for who the author is.  You know, at a glance, whether you will love or HATE his work.  Nicely done.

Okay, Lucky 18!  Now it’s your turn.  Please pass this award on to 6 lucky bloggers, and let them know.  Also, post on your blogs a list of 10 useless but fun facts about you.

Congratulations!

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