Hello! I’m delighted to be nominated for The Mystery Blogger Award!
It’s really exciting to be here and I would like to say a huge heartfelt thank you to Tamara Rokicki for the nomination.
The Mystery Blogger Award was created by Okoto Enigma. According to the creator “this award is for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.”
So here are three things about me by way of introduction…
- I created a life mood board about three years ago, just as I began a Creative Writing Class and much to my amazement about 3 years later I decided to create a new one and it was incredible how I had achieved, sub-consciously, everything I had put on that board. My new board looks quite different and I am working through it day by day as I feel my journey taking shape and my life following the path I feel I was always meant to be on.
- I keep a Happiness Jar next to my bed. It’s nothing fancy – a jam jar I decorated myself with different coloured ribbons. I fill it with my happy moments and thoughts every night before I go to bed. The purpose of the jar is to keep me focused on the good things in my life and the positive things going on around me. It’s all too easy to get drawn into the world’s problems and this impacts negatively on my outlook. It’s not that I don’t have empathy for those around me but rather I choose to focus on the good and the happy and the joyful. It makes a huge difference to how I feel and it means I go to bed every night not with a frown but with a smile.
- I am the eldest of four siblings and have always loved to write! I remember as children we used to play ‘teachers’ in the back garden. I was ALWAYS the teacher! I would use my mum’s sewing machine to sew little books out of scrap paper and use planks of wood balanced across piles of bricks to make desks. I was quite strict, stricter than the teacher I later became, and I remember writing spellings on a little black board propped on a wooden easel. My make-believe life came to fruition in so many ways…I trained as a teacher at 40 years old and at 50 I became an author! Wonder what life will bring me when I’m 60…?
Now my responses to the questions posed to me by Tamara:
- At what age did you realise you were a creative person?
My creativity found an outlet late into my adult life to be honest, in my late forties. As a child and throughout school, probably due to a lack of confidence, I had to be sure that what I was doing was right so I tended to focus on academic subjects that could be assessed and given a grade and where my answers could be marked as right or wrong. Anything in between, to me, was just not an option. I looked at things as either being black or white.
- What is the strangest food combination you’ve ever eaten?
I absolutely love sweet and savoury combinations and one of the strangest combinations is probably courgette and chocolate chip muffins made by one of my best friends who I visited in Canada a few years ago. They tasted absolutely delicious!
- What is your favourite book genre?
My favourite book genre as a young adult was romance but in more recent years I marvel at the twists and turns of thriller novels. I think the minds of those authors who write this genre are amazing. The different layers of the story, the sub-plots and red herrings, fascinate me. You have to have a very clever mind to be able to write like that and keep track of all that’s coming round the corner!
- Who is your most memorable school teacher?
My most memorable teacher has got to be my O Level geography teacher, who was straight out of college, had the blackest hair and darkest eyes and I was utterly infatuated by him! He was the first teacher to treat me like a young adult too and I remember having many conversations about life with him. He always had time to talk, to listen and would give me lifts to school if he passed me walking in the mornings.
- What is the one piece of technology you absolutely hate?
The internet which in my house is so temperamental it constantly freezes out on me and adds lots of undue stress to my working day, especially when I’m researching.
MY NOMINATIONS:
I nominate the following people for The Mystery Blog Award as they all have fantastic blogs!
- Abi Shepherd
- Leanne Lindsay
- Anne John-Ligali
- Aaron Brinker
- Melisa Quigley
- Amy Markstahler
- Frank Regan
- C. Hogan
- Diana Tyler
- Rebekah Lee Jenkins
My 5 questions for my nominees are:
- Where do you do your writing/blogging?
- Which is your favourite season and why?
- Which is your current favourite TV series?
- Who has been your biggest inspiration?
- Which country would you most like to visit and why?
THE RULES:
- Put the award logo/image on your blog
- List the rules
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
- Nominate 10—20 people
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify)
- Share a link to your best post(s)
Thanks again to Tamara Rikicki for this award! I can’t wait to read everyone’s responses.
