Inspire and Admire: The Liebster Award!

What a surprise! The lovely, inspirational, astonishingly rad Deena Ebbert (aka Propellergirl) has given me the Liebster Award!

According to my research *adjusts glasses* this is a friendly award passed around the blogging community as a way of promoting one another and introducing one another to folks and blogs we otherwise might not encounter. I’m tickled that Deena (who is an inspirational speaker, encourager of brave leaps, and a brilliant lady all around) thought of me for this thingy-doo and I’m happy to pass it on to others who I think are pretty swell.

Deena’s version of the Liebster Award rules are as follows:

1. Acknowledge you are mighty and awesome, and worth following.
2. Nominate a few fine folks who inspire you, then light the interwebz on fire with your specific praise of their brilliance. (You’re the boss of you; choose however many you please.)
3. Compile a list of compelling questions, and ask ‘em. They’re interesting. (You are still the boss of you, and can ask as exactly as many questions as amuses you.)
4. Answer the questions I’ve asked of you. I’m interested.
5. If you like, let ‘em know who sent you.

Deena’s quizzical queries – and my answers! – are thus:

1. Who propels you?

I find myself propelled by my close friends and family, as are many artists, but I have a handful of writerly folks on Twitter that I admire quite a bit, including Tee Morris, Philippa Ballantine, Delilah S. Dawson, Chuck Wendig, and the three ladies I’ve nominated below.

2. What has been your biggest “aha!” from blogging?

The biggest aha so far has been that I actually do have things to say, and I’ve barely scratched the surface. I was afraid to commit to a blog for such a long time because I thought “Everyone else is already saying things. I don’t have anything to add, nothing new to explore.” It’s false. I have plenty to say, and lots of interesting things to explore!

3. When was your favorite risk, and why did you take it?

In March, I quit my dayjob to write, read, act, perform, blog, take care of my family, and prepare for the Next Big Chapter of my life. It was hands down the scariest leap I’ve ever taken. So far so good, though, and I’ve never been so happy and healthy as I’ve been since then.

4. Where do you go from here?

Literally anywhere! I have a few short term projects wrapping up, and a handful of long term possibilities I’m toying with… I am open and ready to turn the page and see where it takes me.

5. How – in a single sentence – would you describe yourself?

I used to think I had too many dreams to ever have any of them come true; now I feel that I have just enough dreams to keep me alive.

*   *   *

And so then, without further ado, I hereby nominate the following illustrious, majestic author-bloggers for the Liebster Award:

Danielle Shipley of Ever On Word – bold bard of eyebrow-arch-worthy fairy tales and fantasy fables, with a keen mind and a clever turn of phrase! Her novel Inspired and her Wilderhark Tales series are full of wit and charm!

Rebecca Enzor of Mermaids and Margaritas (formerly Sticky Note Stories) – lover of all things marine and aquatic, connoisseur of the fantastical and delicious! Her unreleased novel Speak The Ocean is literally one of the best things I’ve read in the last five years. Get excited for her!

Candace Thomas of Where The Words Take You – tender giver of sweet dreams, deep-rooted magic and uplifting wishes! Check out her award-winning YA fantasy novel, Vivatera!

Ladies, you are outstanding and amazing. Your skills are precious and admirable, and I am infinitely proud to know each of you both as a human being and as a completely unrecognizable member of a totally alien race known as Writers. Keep doing all that you do, and know that your talents, your passions and your efforts are known, seen, recognized, and admired.

Answer the following questions, if you’d like to, on your blog when you pass on the Liebster!

• If you were a protagonist in a novel, what genre would it be, and who is the author?
• What is your favorite classic fairy tale (Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Perrault, etc)?
• What color is your magic? Be specific.
• Would you rather have cake or pie?
• If you were an Animagus or able to transform into an animal, what creature would you be?

That’s all for now… thank you again to Deena for the inspiration and the kind words… and I look forward to reading everyone’s responses! Huzzah!

-Aly