First up is the The Booker Award for blogs that talk about books, reading, or writing at least 50% of the time. The recipient must share their five favorite books, and pass the award along to five other awesome blogs!
- The Outlander series (Yes, all of them) by Diana Gabaldon
- The Vorkosigan series (Yes, again, all of them) by Lois McMaster Bujold
- The Challion series (You know the drill by now) by Lois McMaster Bujold
- On Folly Beach by Karen White
- The Skolian Empire series by Catherine Asaro
So sue me, there's more than five books in the list. ; )
Next, is the Be Inspired award. This award comes with 10 questions
1. What is the name of your book? FRIENDLY FIRE
2. Where did the idea for your book come from? A dream--I'm not kidding! I woke from a nap with the first scene fully laid out in my mind.
3. In what genre would you classify your book? That's a hard one. It's either mainstream or women's fiction. I'll have to fine tune it later.
4. If you had to pick actors to play your characters in a movie rendition, who would you choose? Laura Grace is Kathy Bates and her romantic interest at the end of the book is Paulo Szot.
5. Give us a one-sentence synopsis of your book. Those closest to us inflict our deepest wounds, and none are so obvious as the ones of Samantha Smith, an abused foster child, or so hidden as those of Laura Grace Chandler, the retired widow, who will help her adopted daughter heal, finding healing for her own wounds as well. (I've been told that the first clause should get lost!)
6. Is your book already published or represented? No, I've got to finish it first--that and the three other books that follow it in the Cherry Hill series.
7. How long did it take you to write your book? Can I get back to you on that one? So far, four years and counting.
8. What other books in your genre do you compare it to? Or, readers of which books would enjoy reading yours? Some of Jodi Picoult's books or The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
9. Which authors inspired you to write this book? That's hard to narrow down. For the short list, I have to include Diana Gabaldon.
10. Tell us anything that might pique our interest in your book. FRIENDLY FIRE is set in a small Georgia town, but the problems its citizens face are universal--abuse in all it's many forms. That healing is available is the real lesson.
Last, but not least is the Fabulous Blog Ribbon. There are 3 sets of 5 questions for this one: 5 of your most fabulous moments, 5 things you love, and 5 things you hate.
5 most fabulous moments:
-my wedding day 35 years ago
-meeting one my all-time favorite author
-holding my two devotional books in my hands for the first time
-snuggling with kitties and puppies
-retiring so I could write
5 things I love:
-my husband
-my mother
-books
-tea
-writing
5 things I hate:
-migraines
-fatigue
-bugs
-weak wrists
-that there are only 24 hours in a day
Finally, here are the blogs I'm tagging for all these awards:
