Kreative Blogger Award

I had my Monday post all ready to publish but then something turned up and I had to let you know the news.

Just today I recieved a Kreative Blogger Award! Dorraine at Free Ice Cream named me as one of her seven favourite bloggers. You can check out the award at her site: http://dorrainefreeicecrem.blogspot.com/ Her blog is fantastic - not least because it's called Free Ice Cream. No one I know writes nature the way she writes it. She has this knack of describing the world around us in a way that is vivid and alive and so lovely. I was thrilled to receive this award from her!



Part of my responsibility as a Kreative Blogger is to pass on the award to my own seven favourite bloggers. I also have to name my seven favourite mystery writers. I don't read a lot of mystery books but have compiled a list of some of my favourites, some of which are mystery writers.

Choosing favourites is very hard for me since I generally love lots of things for very different reasons depending on my mood but I'm going to screw up my courage and make a list. For a list of all the blogs I follow just scroll down this page and you'll find two blog lists on the right hand side of the screen.


Seven Great Blogs:

Intimate Family - by Jennifer Strauss. She posts about issues regarding family and relationships and gives very good advice on how to live a more intimate connected life. Always cheerful, thoughtful, and looking for the positive, her posts are thought provoking and even challenging. I always find something to comment about when I read her posts.

The Sharp Angle - authored by a husband/wife team, Joe and Lydia, The Sharp Angle is about all things sci-fi and fantasy. They give book and movie reviews, as well as chronicle their experiences as writers. What's great is that since reading their blog, I've been more into aliens and science fiction than ever. Love it.

The Next 24 - a recovering meth addict, Kim posts moving and sometimes hilarious thoughts on addiction and recovery. Her goal is to help others who are recovering by sharing what she has been through in her journey. In between she posts wonderful recipes for lovely food and makes my mouth water. Her cheerfulness and motivation are inspirational to me.

Susan Cross Writes - Susan Cross blogs about her new biography of jazz musician Leroy 'Hog' Cooper. Leroy was a personal friend of Susan Cross. She posts interesting thoughts on the jazz music scene, containing issues of history and race, as well as writing tips and flash fiction so I'm aways interested to see what she's up to.

Djpiperhobbies Recycled - Author Dorothy blogs about her experiences coping with cheeky little grandchildren, writing, and her love of astronomy. I've never seen such a subject combination before in my life which is why I'm always delighted to read her latest post. Dorothy is also a fellow Brit turned American, like me, so we have a lot in common.

The Multicoloured Diary - Hungarian Storyteller A Tarkabarka Holgy keeps me sharp on the world storytelling front by keeping me updated on what is going on around the world in the storytelling community, as well as sharing stories she tells when she performs. A lively and poetic soul, I'm always charmed to learn about her latest adventure.

Granny Sue's News and Reviews - Another storyteller, this time on the American side, Sue's blog contains delightful updates on her garden, family and storytelling career. She makes my mouth water with pictures of fresh vegetables from her garden. I don't know anyone as industrious as this lady except for my own mother.

My favourite authors:

Georgette Heyer - Incomparable, she created and owned the regency romance genre and was also a mystery writer. Heyer's books, which number over 50, are classics that I read over and over again. The fact that I haven't read all her books is something I'm working to rectify.

Laura Kinsale - An author of incredible wit and passion, I've read all of her books over and over again. Meticulously researched historical romances, her books are filled with characters that are so real I can't imagine that they didn't really live.

Jane Austen - I'd read every book she ever wrote by the time I was 17 years old. Can't live without her.

C. S. Lewis - The fantasy author of my childhood. I used to lie awake at night and wish I could meet Aslan.

Sherrilyn Kenyon - The fantasy author of my adulthood. Sherri writes kick ass vampire fiction that is set in a world of Greek mythology, shape shifters, Daimons, were-beings, gods and goddesses, and passionate love. (She's also very funny.)

Italo Calvino - I've only recently been introduced to his fiction, but am totally bowled over by his original style. On reading his 'If on a winter's night, a traveler' a whole new world of writing possibilities opened up to me.

Graham Hancock - the only non-fiction writer in this list, Hancock writes books that are explorations of new evidence that sheds light of the mysteries of human history, providing different and revolutionary theories about the world and our place in it. Love him.