Random

Liebster Award

Liebsteraward

Thank you for my first nomination for the Liebster Award from the fab blogger and writer A. J. Lundetræ. I hope I can do the questions justice!

Rules

  • Acknowledge the blog that nominated you and display the award.
  • Answer 11 question that the blog gives you.
  • Give 11 random facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 5-11 blogs you think are deserving of the award that have less than 200 followers
  • Let the blogs know you have nominated them.
  • Give them 11 questions to answer.

So, here goes!

A.J.’s questions:

  1. What was most awesome moment of your life as a writer till now?

Reaching the halfway point of my novel was a pretty great moment. I realised that, by putting my mind to it, the goal of actually completing the story was less daunting once I put the work in.

  1. Is there any particular destination you would love to travel to?

Egypt, but in the days before it fell to the Roman Empire. Failing that, Rome during the Roman Empire 🙂

  1. Which song makes you feel happy really fast?

That’s Me by ABBA, it’s light and fluffy but at the same time has quite empowering lyrics.

  1. What is the best advice you ever got?

Nothing that has ever stayed with me. I am good at giving advice though.

  1. What are the three most important items at your creative work space at home?

Notepad, laptop, thesaurus

  1. Do you prefer writing in a coffee shop or writing at home? Or somewhere else?

Definitely at home but as inspiration can strike anywhere I always make sure I have pen and paper handy to note down an idea that pops into my head, a snippet of conversation etc.

  1. What is your current read?

An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

  1. If you were a colour, which one would you be?

Green.

  1. If you could have one magical power, what would it be?

Flight. It would make getting around so effortless!

  1. Do you have a favourite word(s)?

Yes, but I’m afraid it’s a swear word so I won’t repeat it here 🙂

  1. Which one of your hobbies / spare time activities is the most unusual one?

Nothing unusual I’m afraid. I’m quite pedestrian that way however, I love acting so take part in my local amateur dramatics which is a lot of fun!

11 Random Facts About Me

  1. I’m a huge Muse fan and so far have seen them live eight times with the ninth coming up in April.
  2. I’ve been part of the audience feature on the Graham Norton Show. It was a lot of fun to be on TV for all of about ten seconds.
  3. I was once in a short film that went by the dubious title of “Got Arm Bitten Off By Tiger”. It was by students at a local college. The story was about a female artist whose last great piece of work was staging her own murder. I played the estate agent selling her house.
  4. I believe in ghosts. Having once lived in a haunted house I would be hard pushed to deny their existence.
  5. Pixar make the best movies in the world. I absolutely love them.
  6. I love animals but cats are my favourite. I can’t get enough of the little furballs.
  7. Just after Christmas 2014, I became vegetarian. It’s a lot easier than people think. The hard part is some people’s attitudes towards it.
  8. Having braces when I was about 8 years old has left me with a lifelong lithp 🙂
  9. I love sunrises. They’re an amazing natural anti-depressant with their glorious pinks and oranges.
  10. I’m an atheist. I believe organised religion has been the germ for a lot of the world’s problems.
  11. I was bullied at school and hope that by making a success of my life I can be an example to others that it doesn’t have to drag you down.

Nominations

As this is a new experience for me I’m nominating those blogs I hope will enjoy this and get something out of it. I also apologise if you have been nominated before or don’t have the time to partake. I have tried to come up with some thought provoking questions and look forward to reading the answers 🙂

Lydia Thomas, Author

J. A. Allen

Art and Soul

BOWENDIARIES

Storyshucker

Questions

  1. Who would play you in a movie of your life?
  2. What’s your guilty pleasure?
  3. Have you ever met one of your heroes only to be left truly disappointed?
  4. Try anything once or comfort in familiarity?
  5. If you could learn any language, which would it be?
  6. What’s your idea of writing heaven?
  7. Do you consider books to be works of art?
  8. If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing instead?
  9. Home cooking or eating out?
  10. Place in a book you’d love to visit in reality.
  11. Cinema or Theatre?

Thanks everyone for reading this, have a fabulous weekend!

Grace x

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Random

A deviation from the norm…

This is a departure from my usual posts about all things book related but I need to get this off my chest.

Why, oh why do we live in an age where absolute mediocrity is now a thing to be celebrated? Where someone who once slept with a famous footballer becomes a “celebrity” or makes a sex tape and is catapulted to fame? People with no actual, discernible talent except for prostituting themselves to the media and to a public who really have nothing better to do than to gobble up tedious gossip and fawn over someone who, if you passed them on the street wouldn’t get a second look?!

Where is the celebration of real, actual talent? Why are absolute nobodies given thousands of column inches and TV programs that net them millions in cash when they don’t contribute anything to the world we live in? They leach off the tax payer, the TV license payer and they are marketed in such a way that young kids and teenagers today are being taught that the best way to get ahead is not through a decent education and forging a career in something worthwhile. Instead, they would rather follow the examples of the Kardashians, Big Brother contestants, X-Factor and BGT wannabes. Make a quick buck to eventually sink into obscurity once the public loses interest for the public have a fickle heart.

It makes me despair when there are so many people in this world who do oodles of good and make a huge contribution to making lives better, improve the environment, work their way to the top through sheer guts and determination. Those are the people we should be celebrating.

From politicians seeking to make the world a better place (Aung San Suu Kyi) to film stars dedicating their lives to environmental causes (Leonardo DiCaprio) animal welfare activists (Ricky Gervais) – the list is endless.

Come on people, engage your brain. If trash reality TV and talent shows helps you switch off because it’s light entertainment, that’s all well and good but you can still choose something better to watch. A decent documentary, a well written comedy, a good book or a radio show.

I challenge you to nourish your souls with healthy choices.

PS and another thing; get your noses out of your Smartphones and tablets. You all look like the Walking Dead. The world does not revolve around your latest Facebook feed. Go for a walk, visit a friend, read a book – DO SOMETHING WORTHWHILE!

 

Zombies