Sunshine Blogger Award

I’ve been very fortunate over the past few months to be grace with a few different blog awards. Thank you all for letting me know you appreciate my blog, it’s very humbling. The first award I received was the Sunshine Blogger award from Rabbit Ears Production Blog. I’ve never received this award before and I’m very humbled. The second is The One Lovely Blog award from Alicia at The Cyborg Knight. I’ve received this one before so I’ll list the facts, but will not be nominating new winners.

I’ll start with the One Lovely Blog award. Here are the rules:

• Thank the person who nominated you and included a link to their blog
• List the rules and display the award
• List 7 facts about yourself
• Nominate 7 other bloggers and let them know they have been nominated.

Seven facts about me:

1. I graduated with a degree in Spanish. I try to read books in Spanish and watch movies in Spanish whenever I can because I don’t use it very often and I’m afraid I’ll lose the skill.
2. I’m currently enrolled in an MBA program in Human Resources. I love it.
3. I have two pet turtles, Marty and Jane. They don’t get along well because Marty bites.
4. I’m a triathlete. I’m recovering from tendonitis now with a coach to help me, but I plan to compete again this summer.
5. I’m afraid of feet. I think they’re absolutely disgusting and I change my socks whenever possible.
6. My mom and I work in the same office. I love seeing her every day.
7. I’m going to Florida next month only because I want to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I’m so excited to cross this off my bucket list.

Thanks again, Alicia!

The next award is the Sunshine Blogger award, which I’ve not received before. I’ve added the icon to my blog awards reel. Thanks so much again!

The Rules:

• Thank the person/people who nominated you
• Answer the questions from your nominators.
• Nominate eleven other bloggers and give them eleven questions.

What’s your favorite underrated book?
There have been a few I liked that others didn’t enjoy. Most recently, I can think of the two Beryl Bainbridge books I’ve read, The Girl in the Polka-dot Dress and Every Man for Himself.

What’s your favorite movie based off a book?
Harry Potter.

What do you like to eat or drink while you are reading?
I usually stick to tea though when my husband is out, I’ve been known to eat Kraft Mac & Cheese while reading.

Where do you like to read?
My favorite is in bed before going to sleep or when I wake up on the weekends.

When did you start your book blog?
I started in September 2013 and I haven’t stopped since.

What’s the scariest book you have ever read?
I read Josh Malerman’s Bird Box this October and it scare the pants off of me!

What’s the worst book you have ever read?
Many disagree but I absolutely hated Alice Hoffman’s The Ice Queen.

Have you heard of Rabbit Ears Productions before?
No, though I think you’ve participated in WWW Wednesday in the past.

What book would you like to read again?
I always love rereading Harry Potter.

Favorite childhood book?
Gosh, I didn’t reread a lot. I remember really enjoying Blueberries for Sal because I thought the bear was cute.

What other country do you want to travel to?
South Korea. I’d also like to go back to Scotland with my husband because it was a great place to travel and I think he would enjoy it.

So, time for me to nominate people. I’m going to base my nominations on those who are most active on my blog to thank them for networking with me. You all are nominated for both awards and can participate however you’d like to. I’m not going to nominate the full eleven so the six I have nominated should feel doubly special!

Makayla @ Random Reads
Yvo @ It’s All About Books
Michelle @ Sidereal Day
Claire @ Art and Soul
Emily @ A Keyboard and an Open Mind
Ali @ I Wuv Books

Their Questions:

• What is the most recent book you read?
• Why did you decide to follow my blog?
• Do you write as well as read? What do you write?
• Who inspired your love of reading?
• Do you have a friend or group you talk about books with in person? Where did you find this group?
• How many books did you read in 2015?
• Do you have a favorite genre? Or do you prefer literary fiction?
• How about historical fiction?
• How many hours a week do you spend on your blog?
• What’s your favorite part of blogging?
• What can you reach out and touch now with your right hand?

Thanks again for the nominations and congrats to my nominees!

Until next time write on.

 

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

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The Blogger Recognition Award

I’m honored to announce that last month I was nominated by Kay the Desert Bibliophile for the Blogger Recognition Award! It’s been a while since I received the award and I’m very humbled. Thank, Kay!

This award has four easy steps:

• Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to. Do some digging if you must! Find those blogs. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you.
• Write a post to show off your award! Give a brief story of how your blog got started, and give a piece or two of advice to new bloggers. Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog. List who you’ve nominated in the post.
  Make sure to also attach the award itself! (You can do this by right-clicking, saving, and uploading the image above).
• Comment on each blog and let them know you’ve nominated them. Provide a link to the award post you created.
• Provide a link to the original post on Edge of Night. That way, anyone can find the original guidelines and post if needed, and we can keep it from mutating and becoming confusing!

How my blog was born. I used to watch a lot of movies. I worked a job with weird hours and I was tired and alone a lot of the time. I decided to join a book club when I switched to my next job and had a more regular schedule. It was a reward for myself for having gotten the new job. I became addicted to book clubs and book discussions. I wanted to talk about all the books I was reading all the time, but there was no one person reading all the same books. So, I wanted to put my thoughts online and find one or two people who’d read each book. (That’s all of you.) I started using it to keep myself accountable for writing as well and it’s snowballed from there.

Blogging advice. Get a schedule. I’ve messed around with schedules for a while and found M-Th works for me. I stay accountable for three posts a week plus the WWW Wednesday meme and it keeps me up to date without being too much pressure. It’s a good balance. My second piece of advice would be to stop following blogs that make you mad. I’ve followed and unfollowed a lot of blogs in my past (almost) two years. If someone doesn’t like a book I do, oh well. But if someone’s insulting my intelligence or saying something I’m doing is dumb or their reviews are too much like summaries for me, UNFOLLOW. And I don’t feel bad about it.

Thank you again to Kay the Desert Bibliophile for nominating me. And thanks also to Eve from Eve of Night for putting this award together. Here are my nominees:

1. Away in Neverland
2. M.E. Kinkade
3. Cat Lumb
4. My Head is Full of Books
5. It’s All About Books
6. Jen’s Pen Den
7. As I Lay Reading
8. Quenching the Quill
9. Brown Girl Reading
10. A Kernel of Nonsense
11. My Soul Called Life
12. mrsmamf
13. The Skeptical Reader
14. Book Club Babe
15. Pointe Taken

Thank you all for blogging and I hope you continue.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

Sisterhood Blog Award

Okay, time for some blog loving! I have two blog awards to accept. The first is a Liebster award from Darcy at Darcy’s Book Blog. Thank you so much to Darcy! As I’ve received this award before, I’m not going to nominate others but I will have fun and answer the questions.

1. What got you into reading?
   • My mom. She was always reading when I was a child and got me to read a lot when I was young. When I got into college, I started reading less but when I graduated, I got back into it. Book blogging has encouraged me to keep going strong.
2. What was your favorite book from your childhood?
   • Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. Because Sam I am.
3. Where is your favorite spot to hang out that is not your home?
   • The library. 🙂
4. What do you like to drink while reading? Tea? Coffee? Wine? Nothing?
   • Chai lattes from my Keurig. It’s by far the best gift I got for my wedding.
5. Do you have a favorite classic?
   • A Separate Peace by John Knowles
6. What genre is your favorite?
   • This is always hard for me. Probably historical fiction, but I love YA, some fantasy, and memoirs.
7. Who is your favorite hero/heroine?
   • Hermione Granger. She’s a great character and a strong role model for girls.
8. Who is your favorite villain?
   • I always struggle with this question because I don’t normally love villains. None?
9. Who is your favorite author?
   • John Irving
10. Whose library do you want to live in?
    • My local community library. I love it so much.
11. Freebie. Write what you want here.
    • Turtles.

However, the real reason I’m writing this post is to celebrate a new award that I’ve been given by my great friend Claudia at Living on Borrowed Days. This is celebrating the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award and I’m very excited to accept this award.

Here are the rules:

• Thank the blogger that nominated you, and link back to their site
• Post the award on your blog
• Answer the 10 questions you’ve been asked
• Nominate 10 other bloggers and as them 10 questions

Numbers one and two are done. Here are my answers to the questions Claudia asked:

1. You are at a Karaoke party, what song will you be singing?

• Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen. I sang it once and was told I did it well, so it’s now a go-to.

2. If you could ask any author, celebrity, famous person 3 questions, who would that said person be and what 3 questions would you ask?

• It would have to be J.K. Rowling. Yes,fangirl moment for sure. I would ask:
  • What character is your favorite?
  • Who was the hardest to kill?
  • Who is the most like you?

3. Name five things that are in front of you right now

• My loving husband
• My feet
• A TV that’s off
• Coffee table books
• A tempting bowl of chocolate

4. What is your favorite outdoor activity?

• Cycling. It’s so freeing and therapeutic.

5. What did you aspire to be when you were a small?

• A middle school math teacher. I really liked my teacher at the time and wanted to be like her.

6. Who is the most inspirational person you know?

• My mom. I think she’s done amazing things and I hope I can be as great an influence on my children as she was on me.

7. What is the one thing you do that often gets you into trouble?

• I’m always in such a hurry to get things done that I sometimes miss a few little things that get pointed out and I have to go back and fix.

8. I have to ask this questions because I’m a die-hard superhero fan; so, if you could be any superhero, who would it be and why?

• I’m not much into superheroes, to be honest. I really like the X-Men and I would say Dr. Xavier, but when he could walk. I’d love to read people’s minds and see what they’re thinking.

9. What was the last movie/TV show/book that made you cry?

• I watched Titanic a few months ago. It makes me cry every darn time!

10. Make a wish!

• That your Christmas is merry and jolly and full of love!

Okay, so now I get to award this to ten fellow bloggers. I’m really excited to pass this award to:

1. Yvo from It’s All About Books
2. Jen from Jen’s Pen Den
3. Haley from As I Lay Reading
4. MrsMamfa
5. Yamini from The Skeptical Reader
6. Lipsyy from Lipsyy Lost & Found
7. Cathy from 746 Books
8. Maureen from cooking with the book club
9. Alena from AlenasLife
10. Amanda from Amanda’s Nose in a Book

Congratulations to all of these very deserving and wonderful nominees! I’m very honored to nominate you for this award. Here are your ten questions.

1. What book have you re-read most often?
2. Favorite book to movie adaptation?
3. Do you have a pet?
4. What’s on your bookshelves besides books?
5. What’s the worst book you’ve read this year?
6. Who do you talk about books with the most?
7. What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not reading?
8. Do you practice any athletic sports or hobbies?
9. If you could snap your fingers and have one book RIGHT NOW, what would it be?
10. Are you going to check out the other nominees?

Another big thank you to the lovely Claudia. Please take a look at her amazing blog if you haven’t already. And congratulations to everyone again.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!

A Lovely Post on a Lovely Blog!

I’m lucky enough to have been nominated for TWO (yes, 2) blog awards last week. The first was a Liebster Award from mrsmamfa. I’m so very thankful for this nomination! I received a Liebster in April so I’m not going to nominate anyone, but I want to answer the questions!

Do you set a reading goal for each month? I don’t. I set one for the year and then evaluate what books I need to read to meet that goal (because some are not solely numerical).

What genres are your favorite and do you ever try reading outside your preferences? My favorites are YA, historical fiction, and some literary fiction. For example, some favorite authors are JK Rowling, John Green, Philippa Gregory, and John Irving.

Do you ever write yourself? I do! I’ve written a YA manuscript, a NA/Woman’s Fiction manuscript, and several short stories. I’m working on yet another YA and trying to edit them all!

What way do you arrange your bookshelf? Ha, arrange is a hard word to describe it. I’m very cramped for book space now but when I move next month, I’ll have tons more space. I keep my TBR books in the order I want to read them in. Not that I always stick to that, but that’s the order. I keep my text books and reference books separate, my autographed books are in a separate section, and we keep series off by themselves. Not very organized, huh?

What is your favorite reading beverage? A hot chai latte, but I normally don’t drink anything while reading. I’m not coordinated enough.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one book, what would it be? Probably the King James Bible. Please don’t seize up at this. It’s long, I could read it for a long time and start over without remembering the beginning. It can lift you up from the monotony of living on a desert island. (has anyone noticed the monotony of typing monotony before? Weird.) In short, if I had to read one thing forever, I think it’s the perfect choice.

What are you reading at the minute? I’ll refer you to my latest WWW for that whopper.

What is your favorite childhood book? Scribbler of Dreams by Mary E. Pearson. I’m not sure why, but I loved it.

Do you prefer books or an e-reader and why? I like physical books. They fill a shelf better and I like the weight of them in my hands.

Do you prefer hardback books or paperback books and why? Paperback only because they’re lighter, smaller, and easier to put in my briefcase.

Do you have any reading habits? Only reading way too many books at a time.

 

Thanks again to mrsmamfa for the nomination. And now, on to the new award! I’m so thankful to Yvo @ It’s All About Books for this nomination: The One Lovely Blog Award.

Rules:

• You must thank the person who nominated you and include a link to their blog. (Done!)
• You must list the rules and display the award. (Done!)
• You must add 7 facts about yourself.
• You must nominate 5-15 other bloggers and comment on one of their posts to let them know they’ve been nominated.
• You must display the award logo and follow the blogger who nominated you. (Done and done!)

Seven facts about me:

1. This is always hard because I don’t want to repeat ones I’ve said before. I just began my MBA earlier this month. I’m deciding on a concentration now but I think Global Supply Chain Management and Organizational Management. Right now I’m taking Marketing.
2. I’m moving next month! We’ll be doubling our square footage and I’m so excited.
3. My parents just bought a lake cottage. Now I have to landscape it (apparently that’s how this works).
4. I stress really easily. I don’t know how my husband deals with it. My mom worries about my blood pressure.
5. Come November, my first nephew will be born! I’m beyond excited.
6. I finished my second triathlon of the year last week. My proudest accomplishments within it were that I finished the 5K in under a half hour and I was the first in my age group in the swim portion. Woo!
7. My stomach hurts right now.

And now for the nominations! I’m going to try to nominate blogs that I haven’t been following for a very long time yet. I don’t want to over-nominate the ones I’m devoted to.

1. Cat Lumb
2. Alena’s Life
3. As I Lay Reading
4. This Is My Soul Called Life
5. The Skeptical Reader
6. Lipsyy Lost & Found

So there it is! Thanks again to Yvo for the nomination! The award image has been added to the right hand widget.

Until next time, write on.

You can follow me on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. I’m available via email at SamAStevensWriter@gmail.com. And as always, feel free to leave a comment!