LIEBSTER AWARD Nomination

Thank you, Christoph Fischer, for nominating me!  

                     

The rules are as follows:

- Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them

 in your case to me: Inge H. Borg-Fiction Blog

- Answer the 10 questions that are given to you by the nominator

            (and don’t be shy). Scroll to the end of this post for your questions from me.
- Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award.
- Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.

Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

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Even though this might be a slight bow to Mr. Ponzi,

combined, we are a force, and we proudly acknowledge each other, our strengths, our genres, our very different approaches to writing.  All are valid in their own right. All are commendable. All are to be celebrated.

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Here are Christoph Fischer’s questions to me. I answered them as honestly as I could. Now, remember, I am a writer. I have been suspected to make things up! 

1. If you did not blog about books, what would you blog about?

Animals -- and their besotted human writers.

Actually, I do that on my other blog http://ingehborg.blogspot.com/

where I often feature authors with an interest in animals and/or their pampered pets (from cats, dogs, to fish, water buffalo and elephants). You are all invited to send me your stories with pictures of your “best ever friends.”

2. What is [was] your strangest hobby?

Scooping poop.

Let me explain: I innocently went to our little animal shelter to volunteer.   A couple of hours max. I was to “socialize the cats,” stroking and cooing. Yeah, that got buried in cat litter real fast.

I can joke about it now, as I do in “Pasha, from Animal Shelter to a Sheltered Life” (the cat’s life, not mine) Although I sadly do lead a rather sheltered life now. And, I still scoop being owned by two cats. Of course, they are from the shelter; a volunteer’s occupational hazard.

3. What makes you laugh?

A good joke. I am gullible (see no. 2 above).

4. What is your favorite song?

“Warum hat jeder Frühling, ach, nur einen Mai?”

Huh? Relax, you don’t have to repeat it. But, as an Austrian expat, I do love my Viennese operettas which I still listen to on my old records (those round, black, vinyl things; you remember? Well, maybe not.)

5. Where would you like to live if it could be anywhere at all?

Maui. Specifically, isolated Hana. Of course, I’d need a helicopter pilot to ferry my supplies over; that winding one-lane road is too treacherous. (Christoph, are you listening?)

That reminds me: I once sent an RVer friend directions to my house here in the foothills of rural Arkansas, cautioning her about the “windy roads.” She told me that there was no wind at all. Geesh: Not windy as in Indie. But as pronounced in, I, or whatever—can’t come up with a rhyme.

6. Celebrity Crush?

Sorry, not my thing. (Except for Clive Cussler. He ranks right after “Mr. Smith.” See my question no. 3 to you.)

I guess, I’m getting too old to gush over our present-day “Celebrities,” unless they were my favorite writer-friends. So, hurry up and get famous so I can initiate said gushing and crushing. (Charlie Bray has an opinion about that).

7. Do you prefer books with a message or are you happy to just be entertained by a story?

Actually, both, depending on my mood. I do love exotic locales, though – the more tropical, lush or remote and dangerous the better. I guess that’s why I can’t abide “country” music, all too popular in this southern rural setting I chose as my exile.

All that moaning and groaning about the outhouse (been there, done that), the lame horse (never had one, lame or otherwise), and the grubby hubby “who’s done gone run off with Lilly-May.” Luckily, I never had one of those either.

8. Do you have a pet “hate”?

You better believe it. It took me a long time to master the English language. (And according to some – my above RVer friend included - I am not done yet.) I am not talking accent here; that’ll never go away.

But now, I find that they have abandoned conjugating verbs in schools. “I should have did this,” or “I should have went,” etc. It raises havoc for a writer. Y’all agree, aren’t ya?

9. The world ends tomorrow, where would you go if you had one plane ticket free?

Waste my last day on a plane? Squashed in the middle seat? You must be kidding.

I am driving to the liquor store and blow my money on the best bottle of wine they have.

Now there is a challenge. This Arkansas county is as dry as a ghost ship’s last barrel of rum.

10. Do you have a motto you live by?

“Avoid ladies’ lunches.”

Sorry, but I moved to a small community where almost everyone is retired. I find old people really selfish. They won’t talk about my books. They won’t gush over my writing. And they won’t buy my darn novels (my fault. I furnished the library with free copies). All they talk about is themselves.

The next time I have to meet someone for lunch, I’ll take my books along. And I’ll talk about them!

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Here are my nominees:

Jim Bennett (Poet Extraordinaire with strong opinions; that's okay, he is Canadian)

http://jim-bennett.ca/

Russell Blake (His thrillers bolster my tough-girl delusions)

http://russellblake.com/

Charlie Bray (Don’t get him going on “Celebrities” – actually, he did, in his last parody)

http://www.theindietribe.com/the-trouble-with-celebrity-download-now-for-free/

Lexa Cain (She doesn’t just write about Egypt, she lives there)

http://lexacain.blogspot.com/

Clive Eaton (A newly discovered—by me—“Ancient Egyptian Ba”)

http://www.cliveeaton.com/thepyramidlegacysample.html

Julie Flanders (A ghost. An island. You have a thriller)

http://julieflanders.blogspot.com/

Kay Hadashi (Talk about exotic)

http://junekatointrigue.wordpress.com/

Robert M. Roberts (Loves felines as much as I do —that’s “felines” you speed readers!)

http://robertsnovels.blogspot.com/

Marnie Robertson (Her novel sent me to Belize. Every winter, I threaten to move there)

http://mulledmusings.blogspot.com/

Cathy Unruh (Animal advocate with a sense of humor)

http://cathyunruh.com/blog/

 And my questions for you:

This will take some thought – and perhaps a glass of wine - because 1) a lot has been asked and answered before, and 2) I am not an overly curious gal to ask personal questions. Doesn’t mean I don’t care; just that I want you to dig deeper into your writer’s soul.

Now, if you let me be a little bit wicked about this, we can have some fun (I hope I don’t have to change my nominee list. Naw! You’re game for a little irreverence, aren’t you? This from someone who is generally burdened by “The Importance of being Earnest” (misspelled intentionally, lest you get the wrong idea).

1) Do you talk to your computer?

(No, not that. We know what you fling at it when it swallows your manuscript).

I mean, do you thank it for being there, day after day, in the middle of the night when you have that epiphany; and when it helps you spell epiphany?

2)  After someone introduces you as “an author,” people sometimes (mostly at ladies’ luncheons) dismiss your meteoric little moment by saying “Oh, I could write a book.”

a) What is your answer?

b) What do you think to yourself? Remember, this is a GA-rated blog.

3)  If you use a pen-name, what was your primary reason?

(Since we don’t have any erotica writers here that I know of, this should be educational, rather than obvious. I give you a hint: My real name is too long to fit on my covers, and too complicated to be remembered, or ever being spelled correctly; yes, I do have an Umlaut; it’s an ö. When the immigration lady asked me too suddenly if I wanted to change my name, I sputtered that I was still looking for Mr. Smith. She said, she was too, and stamped my US-citizen certificate. That was long before I tried to sneak into Wilbur’s domain).

4)  How lenient are you with people who answer their own questions?

5)  This is hard. Let’s see: Why don’t you get something off your chest.

No, it can’t be the cat, nor your Labradoodle or pet-elephant. It has to be about – your Love of MARKETING. That should open some floodgates.

6)  Did you ever change the original cover(s) on your book(s) and why? (I can answer that. Oops, it’s not my turn – but for Khamsin, it was Russell’s blog article even though I loved the other cover).

7) Someone of your not-so-good friends (at the ladies’ luncheon) insists that the lush in your novella “sounds like you.”

How do you tell them: Hell no! It’s a MADE-UP STORY

(as you order another glass of Merlot). Still, this pillar of the community righteously declares "The lady doth protest too much, methinks." Note that I gave her credit to get it right (which she won't). 

8)  The best advice you received from a successful colleague.

(Other than to get lost)

9)  Did you have the fortitude (otherwise referred to as guts), and humility, to follow it?

10)  Do you blog to get added exposure, or do you really feel a connection with your fellow-bloggers?

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Whew. That’s done. Now, is there some Superior Being to select a Winner in all of this? I have no idea. As far as I am concerned, we are all winners here, supporting each other, and giving the three-up cheer: “Hip, hip, hooray.” Because—levity aside—we are all passionate about our writing. We believe in it. WE ARE GOOD AT IT...yeah, darn right, we are! So there!

Smile, and Remember: "Life is a ....