I'm not terribly good at passing on these awards, so I decided to get this one written up and posted before I forget where to find it. Thanks to J. M. Strother for nominating me! Jon is a fellow writer that I met online at the Editor Unleashed forum, which is the Parisian cafe of the 21st century for us creative types.
As usual, there are some conditions on accepting this award. I need to list seven of my favorite bloggers and seven of my favorite mystery authors. This is where I always get hung up on these awards! It is hard to whittle down my favorite bloggers to only seven, and in this case, I only read one mystery author. So, what's a modern writer to do but look to Google for an answer to that second question. Apparently, the Kreativ Blogger Award has gone through some creative changes over the course of being passed along, so I'm just going to have to be one of those creative folks who changes it up a bit more. Since I don't have seven favorite mystery authors, I'll list my seven favorite authors, both fiction and non-fiction.
In no particular order, here are seven blogs that I love:
1. There Are No Rules -- First of all, I love the name of this blog. It's about writing, by the way, and when it comes to writing and publishing, there are so many exceptions that you wonder if there are any rules. If you're a writer who wants to get published, this is a great blog to read. Jane Friedman is publisher over at Writer's Digest, and no one has her finger on the pulse, blood pressure, and vital signs of the publishing world like Jane. Ask her anything, and she knows about it!
2. Miss Effie's Diary -- If you like home-grown food and flowers, you'll love this one. Clink is also a great cook and wine lover. I've had the honor of meeting her and wish she lived closer. I'd be at her flower farm every week!
3. A Shepherd's Voice -- One of my Shetland blogpals and the breeder of one of my favorite sheep, Majik, although I have never actually met Nancy in person. You see, someone originally bought Majik as a lamb and didn't know what a gem she owned, so she sold her to me! One of these days, Nancy and I have to meet!
4. Boulderneigh -- Another Shetland blogpal out on the west coast.
5. Creative Canning -- A blog I discovered recently, which has a lot of really excellent recipes for canning.
6. Wandering Gecko -- A Shetland shepherdess across the big pond.
7. Little Country Acres -- And yet another Shetland shepherdess, this one only a few miles up the interstate from me. We bought our one and only babydoll sheep from her back when she also raised them.
Okay, now I have to remember to visit their blogs and let them know that they've been nominated. Whew, this award stuff is work!
As for seven favorite authors, it's a little easier, because if I forget someone, I don't have to worry about offending them. Stephen King is not reading my blog, and wouldn't be offended if little ol' me didn't list him anyway.
1. Michael Pollan -- big surprise! I've read his last three books and quote them all the time on here.
2. Tamar Myers -- the only mystery writer I read. She writes the Penn Dutch Inn mysteries about a Mennonite innkeeper who has to solve all the crimes in Hernia, Penn. since the sheriff is a bumbling idiot. All the titles are puns on food, like Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth and The Hand That Rocks the Ladle. Each book also has five or six recipes in it.
3. Barbara Kingsolver -- I admit, I've only read one book of hers, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, but she actually became one of my favorite people as a result. It's just cool to find someone who lives a life similar to mine. I felt a little less weird after reading her book.
4. Lorraine Heath -- a romance novelist. She used to write Texas after the Civil War, but now she writes Regencies (English historicals).
5. Jennifer Crusie -- she was working on a dissertation about sexism in romance novels and wound up writing them. Her books break all the rules of romance, so they're shelved in general fiction. I've laughed until I was in serious physical pain when reading her books. Now that she's teamed up with a former green beret to write cross-genre books, I suppose she might qualify as a mystery author.
6. and 7. John and Martha Storey -- Yes, they're publishers, but they're also authors. I probably own a dozen of their books. Every modern homesteader has at least a few of their books on the shelf. I could give some sort of Oscar-award-style testimonial like, "I couldn't have done it without them," but they would know that's not true. We would eventually get everything done around here, although we would have made a lot more mistakes along the way. The first time we butchered a chicken, I was reading aloud from the Country Skills book as my husband was attempting to do everything I read. If you're an aspiring homesteader, head on over to their website for a visit.
Well, that wasn't as painful as I expected. Thanks again to Jon for the honor, and for those of you who have been nominated by me, I hope you'll have fun passing along the award.
