Best Australian Blogs 2013

Today’s post is about blogging, hayfever, and blogging when you have hayfever.  Well, really it’s about blogging, but if I suddenly become strangely incoherent it’s probably because the summer scourge is upon me. Which is a shame because we’re well and truly into autumn now and this is the first really bad attack of the sneezes I’ve had. Sigh.

Ignoring that, I have once again signed up to participate in the Best Australian Blogs competition, which is run annually by the Australian Writers’ Centre (formerly the Sydney Writers’ Centre). I don’t necessarily think that my blog has what it takes to even make a dent in this great competition, but if I don’t put my hand up I’ll never know, right? Whereas if I do, then more people might discover my blog and think it’s worth looking at occasionally. *crosses fingers hopefully*

What does this competition entail? Well, really, it’s a nominate-oneself-or-hope-someone-else-does-it-for-you type of thing. There are different categories and special awards for outstanding individual posts, but essentially it’s a way for bloggers to discover what other blogs are out there, and for people who like to read blogs to go through the entrants to find ones they like. And it’s all about group hugs and supporting each other and generally being nice to other internet-people.

Anyway, like I said I’ve put my hand up, and I’m hoping that someone notices it. And if you like my blog, there’s a People’s Choice round coming up next month during which you can vote for me, so bear that in mind too.

And that’s it for me today. Sorry for the brevity of the post, but I’ve sneezed approximately one hundred and fifty times since I started writing it, so I think my body is telling me to stop. Now all I need to do is think of some incredibly interesting things to post about in the next few weeks that might increase my chances, hahaha.

Best of luck to all other nominees, and if you let me know you’ve entered I’ll look for you in the voting round. Cheers!

 

Related articles

• Australian Writers Centre launches Best Australian Blogs competition (mumbrella.com.au)
• Best Australian Blogs Competition (annegreenblog.wordpress.com)
• Best Australian Blogs 2013 Nominee (gluecklichdownunder.wordpress.com)

More blog awards!

Today I’d like to thank the very lovely Eveli Acosta, who nominated me for not one but two blog awards! Admittedly, she did it about two months ago, but I had a big of a glut in nominations at that time and it seemed rather conceited of me to have several acceptance blogs in a row. However, now seems as good as time as any, so I’m thrilled to bestow the Very Inspiring Blogger Award and the One Lovely Blog Award to some of my fellow bloggers.

The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them (done!)
2. Share 7 things about yourself (see below)
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (again, see below)
4. Leave a comment on each of their blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated (on to-do list)

Right. Here goes. Seven things about myself:

1. I have three different Twitter accounts, in three different names and for three different purposes. And I’m rubbish at updating any of them.
2. I travelled to South Africa alone as a twenty-one year old and almost got killed. At least, that’s the way I like to tell it.
3. I quote Winnie-the-Pooh on a regular basis.
4. I have a real weakness for well-done Shakespeare, and I love Shakespeare parodies just as much. Badly done, though, and I lose patience.
5. I see more plays each year than I do movies. I’m not sure that it’s necessarily interest so much as the ability to book them in months in advance. The last movie I saw at the cinema was the final Harry Potter one.
6. When I was ten I travelled to North America with my family and did cartwheels (probably quite badly) at each place we stayed.
7. I don’t drink coffee. At all. I am quite possibly the only writer in the world who doesn’t.

Okay, now for my nominations. In no particular order, they are:

1. Cresting the Words, by Wordsurfer
2. But What are They Eating?, by Shelley Workinger
3. Culture Shock, by Jamie B Musings
4. A Cupboard Full of Thoughts, by Gill
5. Super Reviewers, by a bunch of wonderful book-types
6. A Place to Share, by Patricia Awapara
7. The BiaLog, by CP Bialois
8. Sarah Butland‘s blog
9. Let’s Talk about Books, by Tracy James Jones
10. So Many Words, by Alberta Ross
11. Diary of a Writer in Progress, by Gina
12. Literary Purveyor of Steampunk Snark, by Wendy L. Callahan
13. Deborah Lawrenson‘s blog
14. Karen Pokras Toz’s blog
15. Emily Unraveled, by Emily L Moir

So, there it is. I hope you check out all my nominees as they have amazing blogs that are well worth looking at. Thanks again to Eveli for nominating me in the first place, and have a lovely week.

The Creative Writer Blogging Award!

Today I’m very excited to be accepting the Creative Blogging Award, and would like to give a HUGE thank you to Justin at Write21 for nominating me. Justin has an excellent blog and I hope you all check it out really soon if you haven’t already.

 

 

The award, apparently, “is meant to be given to those who share their creativity through writing stories, poems, and themselves through their writing.

The rules are…

1. This award should be given to those who have written a poem, a story, scripts, or some other creative form of writing for their blog.
2. Thank the blogger who nominated you for the award, and link to their blog.
3. Write a 8 line poem about yourself.
4. Nominate 4 other bloggers for the award and notify them of their nomination.”

Okay. Easy, right? Let’s see …

I’ve already thanked Justin for his nomination, so now I have to write a poem about myself. This is really off-the-cuff, so please excuse its vagueness and its quality.

 

Hidden from prying eyes,
Chasing the wind,
Clutching at subplots
As magic begins;
Mother and co-worker,
Partner and friend,
Telling a story
From beginning to end.

 

Sorry about that. Now, onto the good stuff – nominations! I am thrilled to nominate the following bloggers for this award, in no particular order:

• Sarah Ballance
• Tracey Baptiste from Knitting With Pencils
• Bex from Bex Book Nook
• Eric Swett from My Writer’s Cramp

Now, I sincerely hope you go check out these bloggers as soon as you can because they’re all definitely worth reading. Thanks again to Justin for nominating me for this award, and have a lovely week!

The Sunshine Award!

Wow. Last week the stars must have been shining on me particularly brightly, because I was nominated for not one, but four different blog awards. *blushes* Of course, they all have their own rules about acceptance and re-nominations, so rather than overwhelm you with all the different facts about myself and lists of other bloggers I want to nominate, I’m going to do them one at a time, say three or four weeks apart.

This week, I’d like to give a huge thank you to Lynn Thompson, who nominated me for the Sunshine Award. Thanks Lynn! *hugs* Lynn has a wonderful blog over at http://lynnthompsonbooks.blogspot.com/ and I urge you to go check it out as soon as you can.

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy”

What I have to do now is answer eight questions about myself and nominate ten other bloggers for this award. So, here goes.

1. What is your favorite Christmas/festive movie?  I’m hugely sentimental, so things like Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life are guaranteed to leave me a slobbering mess. This of course means I love them.

2. What is your favorite flower?  I like white flowers, especially white daffodils (the kind that are all white, not white with a yellow centre) and white tulips. I have no idea why, they just appeal to me.  I’m not a big fan of roses, but if someone wants to give me some I’m not about to say no.

3. What is your favorite non-alcoholic beverage?  I’m a tea drinker, so I’ll probably say that, but it has to be strong, and made with real leaves rather than a bag. Aside from that I am rather partial to lemon, lime and bitters.

4. What is your passion? My family, my kids. Then, probably, my writing, though sport comes very very close.

5. What is your favorite time of year? Good question! I don’t really know. I think all the seasons have their good points and their bad ones. Weather-wise, probably spring or autumn, when it’s not too hot or too cold, but I love taking the kids swimming on a hot day, or sitting in front of a fire in the middle of winter. In other words, they’re all good!

6. What is your favorite time of day? Afternoon. Despite having young children I’m not really a morning person, but I also go to bed early so I can’t call myself a night owl. That time between lunch and dinner, though, is lovely and also when I’m at my most productive.

7. What is your favorite physical activity? Another good question, because I’m not a hugely physical person. I do love swimming, though (with or without the kids), and I love a bit of yoga though it’s been a very long time since I’ve done it properly.

8. What is your favorite vacation? My dad has a beach house on the coast about an hour’s drive from our place. The local bakery is fantastic and the beach is long, white and unspoiled. I love it.

Right. Do you feel you know me a little better now? Good. Now I have to nominate ten other bloggers for this award, so here they are:

Devoted Eclectic, by Elizabeth Lheude
Novel Girl, by Rebecca Berto
Poeta Officium, by Virginia
Sendero, by Max Tomlinson
Margaret Lynette Sharp
Here She Goes Again, by AD Duling
Can You all Hear Me in the Back? by Darlene Craviotto
Totallytawn, by Tawn
A Little Shelf of Heaven, by Kristy
Joseph Eastwood

I hope you have bookmarked all these sites and will go and follow them all pronto, because they’re great bloggers who thoroughly deserve this award. Thanks again to Lynn for the nomination, and happy reading!

The Liebster Blog Award!

Well, well, well, this is about as tardy as it’s possible to get.

AGES ago, back in MAY (yes, that’s right, two whole months), the very lovely Holly Kench nominated me for a Liebster Blog award. And do you know what? While I thanked her for the nomination, I totally forgot to do my bit and pass on the award to those bloggers I thought worthy. Until now, that is.

To quote Holly’s explanation, the  Liebster Blog Awards are basically chain letters of love for baby-bloggers. It’s all about sharing links and love to your favourite sites (at least those with under 200 followers). And, while I would love to have more than 200 followers, if having less than that number means I can share some blog love, then I’m all for it.

It seems the requirements for accepting the award are linking back to the person who nominated you (done!), and then nominate five other blogs that you think deserve some attention. I have to admit that a large proportion of blogs out there don’t give follower stats, so I had to do a bit of guesswork. (I know that WordPress stats aren’t necessarily correct anyway. Last week, it showed that overnight I had gone from 90-odd followers to over 850. My own stats show that the 90-odd is still correct, so forgive me if I sometimes take readership stats with a grain of salt.)  Anyway, my apologies if you’re listed here and do have more than 200 followers; I hope you’re not offended by my presumption. So, in no particular order, here goes.

1. Pauline Conolly‘s blog 

2. Alison Wong’s blog, Think Write, not Wong

3. Sarah L Fox’s blog, The Write Fox

4. Mike Lambson’s blog, The Writer’s Zone

5. Elizabeth Lawrence‘s blog (warning: link contains adult content)

I hope (a) I got the follower numbers right, and (b) you go and check out what these lovely people have to say. Also I thoroughly recommend you subscribe to Holly’s blog, linked to right at the top.

Thanks again to Holly for the nomination … and share the blog love!

The Beautiful Blogger Award!

Wow. I’ve been nominated for the Beautiful Blogger Award!! An ENORMOUS thank you to Emi from Four Leaves for the nomination. Honestly, I’m so touched.  :) *hugs*

As a result, I’ve got a bit of a change in theme today. No writing tips or experiences, just sharing the blogging love. Here’s what it’s all about. The Beautiful Blogger Award is for creativity, originality, and contribution to the blogging community.

The guidelines are to list seven random facts about yourself; post a link to the blog of the person who nominated you (done that!!); link to seven other bloggers who are deserving of the award; and let those bloggers know that you’ve nominated them. Pretty simple, right? So here goes.  :)

Seven random facts about me:

1. I’m right handed in everything I do, except playing (ice) hockey. I hold a hockey stick left handed for some reason; it feels more comfortable that way. My husband is right handed too, but the kids (even the baby) are left-handed. Not sure where that came from!
2. I changed my surname legally when I was sixteen years old. There was no family split or crisis or anything; I just wanted a different name.
3. I was also sixteen when I finished school – and I don’t mean left, but finished year 12. I then took a year off to do a student exchange because I figured sixteen was just a little bit young to start university.
4. My favourite movie is Kenneth Branagh‘s version of Henry V, though the Lord of the Rings movies are a close second. I’ve read The Lord of the Rings in its entirety every year since I was eighteen.
5. I don’t wear make-up, or do my hair in any special way beyond brushing it. The face-paint and hair dryer come out for weddings, funerals and job interviews. And that’s it.
6. At twenty-one I had my jaw broken and re-set in order to correct a chronic and severe overbite. I now only have about 40% feeling in my chin due to the severing of a nerve, but at least I have a chin.
7. I learned to play the piano as a child, and apparently got quite good, but the fact that I am absolutely tone deaf meant that I lost interest when I couldn’t tell when I was doing something wrong.

Right. Did that bore the pants off you? It’s amazing how hard it can be to think of seven random things about yourself that others might find even vaguely interesting.

Now for my seven nominations. I admit I initially struggled to find seven, mostly because many of my initial thoughts had already been nominated. I have, however, come up with some absolute beauties that I hope you check out. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Confessions of a Stuffed Olive, by Holly Kench. Holly did my guest post last Friday so this might seem like just additional promotion, but you really must check out her blog. I follow a lot of people, but she’s one of the few that I read every single time.
2. Colleen Moore. Another writer working on a first novel, I can really relate to her experiences and struggles – and she puts them so well!
3. Amelia Curzon. Not only does she have some great insights on the writing process, but her guest posts are amazing. (Not including mine, of course. That would just be conceited.)
4. The Monster’s Ink, by Alyson Miers. Social commentary with bite, this is a great read, even if you’re not American.
5. Anne Chaconas. I can’t help but just agree with her!
6. Justin O’Leary at Write21. An amazing resource for writers. My only complaint is that he doesn’t post often enough.
7. Ingrid Gascoigne at Destination: denouement. Can I just say …  I can relate!!

So there are my Beautiful Bloggers. All that’s left for me to to is tell them they’ve been nominated …. which I will get to just as soon as I’ve taken the baby to his swimming lesson.  Thanks again to Emi for the nomination, and next week I’ll return to normal scheduling.  :)