Okay, to my regular visitors, you lovely shiny happy people, you’ll know that due to illness I have not been the consistent blogger I used to be, and have been rather sporadic in my posts over the last few months, something I hope to correct soon.
Anyway, to my delight I was nominated for two blog awards! – The Versatile Blogger award and the Liebster Award. Amazing, yes, fantastic and humbling, definitely, but here comes the embarrassing bit…
The gorgeous and very talented writer, Kay Kauffman (http://suddenlytheyalldied.com/), kindly nominated me for the Liebster Award back in May – thank you Kay! But it was, ahem…over a year ago when she nominated me for The Versatile Blogger award! *cringes* Oops, sorry!
I really am the definition of the absent minded blogger! So, VERY belatedly, I’m accepting The Versatile Blogger award first. 😀
So, here are the rules:
I have to say seven things about myself and nominate fifteen others for the award, so here goes! *gulp*
- I’m a complete nerd with a deep love of comic book superheroes, dragons, and basically anything to do with fantasy and science-fiction. Yes, I love DC and Marvel comics EQUALLY, how could I really choose between my spidey and batman? However, I hate Dr Who, I like my sci-fi/fantasy to be ultra high quality (BSG – Battlestar Galactica & Games of Thrones girl here). But I still have a fondness for the wobbly sets of Blake’s 7 and Red Dwarf!
- The first film I ever saw at the cinema, was Star Wars in 1977, I was 4yrs old (yes, I am that old!). I screamed and ducked down in the seat during the opening titles because I thought the starship was going to hit my head! That was it – I was HOOKED!!!! I still have some of my original Star Wars figures!
- One of my dreams, other than being able to fly like Man of Steel or kick butt like Buffy, is to go to America at least once and attend the Comic-Con convention in San Diego, a feast for any fanboy and fantasy freak! I hear the marvellous Henry Cavill is attending a panel and signing autographs there Saturday 20th July…mmmm…sigh! 🙂
A Comic Con sign. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- I’m an avid film buff with an enormous collection of films, including some wonderfully obscure ones. My favourite actors are Al Pacino, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch and Christian Bale. My favourite actresses are Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Juliette Binoche and Judy Dench, though I think Jennifer Lawrence is great. Favourite film? …oh that changes so much! Betty Blue, Les Enfants du Pont Neuf, Star Wars & Empire Strikes Back, Godfather 1 & 2, Leon, Blade Runner, Three Colours Blue, The Dark Knight Trilogy, 2001 Space Odyssey, Gladiator, LOTR trilogy, Watchmen, Man of Steel, Insomnia, Memento (yes, I love Christopher Nolan movies) Frankie & Johnny – did I say I have eclectic tastes?
- I LOVE New Zealand after having spent four glorious months there back in 1997/1998, just travelling around with my backpack and loving every second of it! Not only was it a life changing experience, the adventure, the freedom, the people, the amazing landscapes, but that 4 month odyssey also inspired my debut novel, White Mountain. Without that trip, my Darkling Trilogy would never have come to pass. A few years later, after I’d already begun writing the novel, I saw my beloved New Zealand again when watching the LOTR films. A truly mesmeric and freaky experience, as unlike the majority of the audience watching it with me, I had actually BEEN to most of the locations they filmed in, and the same extraordinary landscapes that inspired Peter Jackson, had inspired me! His Mordor was parts of my Fendellin, his Fangorn was my Grey Forest, and Aoraki itself – Mount Cook, WAS my White Mountain!
- I’d love to travel more as I used to, revisit Russia, Andorra, Italy and New Zealand. I’d especially love to do the world’s longest and wildest train journey, the Trans-Siberian railway from Moscow to Vladisvostok. I’d also love to go to Tibet and Mongolia and rent a car and drive across America, road trip style. More adventures needed! 😀
- I ADORE my two white wolves, my family & friends, Marmite, my lightsabre, my ability to dream in 3 dimensions and cinema surround sound – which doesn’t make for a good night’s sleep but wow are my dreams vivid! (I’m an awful insomniac), my book collection, my gorgeous garden, nature, landscapes, the ocean, art, photography, chess, maps, the stars…life!
There you go! 😀
Right, now for nominating others, this is really hard as I know SO many great bloggers out there that deserve this award…in NO order whatsoever!
- Lindsey Parsons – http://lindseyjparsons.wordpress.com/
- Tricia Drammeh – http://blog.triciadrammeh.com/ & http://theclaimingwords.com/
- AFE Smith – http://www.afesmith.com/blog.html
- Kate Jack – http://kateannejack.wordpress.com/
- Will Macmillan Jones – http://willmacmillanjones.wordpress.com/
- Andrea Baker – http://www.andreabakerauthor.com/ & http://rosewallauthor.wordpress.com/
- Gretchen Steen – http://www.gretchensteen.com/ & http://gretchensteen.blogspot.com/
- Ryan Holmes – http://griffinsquill.com/
- Jane Dougherty – http://janedougherty.wordpress.com/
- Susan Finlay – http://susansbooks37.wordpress.com/
- Debbie Young – http://youngbyname.wordpress.com/ & http://offtheshelfbookpromotions.wordpress.com/
- Emily Mckeon – http://theabsenteeblogger.blogspot.com/
- Lisa Scullard – http://lisascullard.wordpress.com/ & http://hardinkcafe.wordpress.com/
- Ashen Venema – http://courseofmirrors.wordpress.com/
- Lisa Weidmeier – http://lisawiedmeier.blogspot.com/ & http://lisawiedmeier.com/
- Okay, I know I’m not allowed more than 15 nominees, but some of these were previously nominated for this same award so I HAVE to include a couple more. The wonderful multi-talented and extremely versatile, Morgen Bailey – http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/
- And the marvellous fantasy author, John Lucas Hargis – http://johnlucashargis.wordpress.com/
A HUGE thank you to fellow member of the Alliance of Worldbuilders http://theallianceofworldbuilders.weebly.com/index.html, the wonderful Kay Kauffman – fantasy author extraordinaire, for her very kind nomination!
Please check out Kay’s stunning blog, full of heart warming poetry that leaps off the screen, tips on writing and her journey to becoming a published author and much much more! Thank you honey – http://suddenlytheyalldied.com/ 😀
Sophie E Tallis - Author/Illustrator 
Wow! Thanks Sophie! It’s good to see you back blogging again, I hope you’re feeling much better. I haven’t been much of a blogger myself just lately, though I’m planning to start writing a lot more posts from now on! Famous last words! I just seem to keep running out of time lately, need to be more organised!!! 😀
Honey, you have got a HUGE amount on your plate at the moment, it’s hardly surprising if you’re running out of time! I’m so thrilled and excited for you, I think you’re going to be a big hit at the convention and Vortex is literally going to spiral into the stratosphere!! I look forward to your blogs though, when you can do them, they always brighten my day! 😀
Thank you for including me on a list among such wonderful. Kay’s blog is fantastic and so is yours! I can’t imagine the award going to a more worthy blogger. I hope you’re feeling better, my dear Sophie.
Thank you, Tricia. But seriously sweetie, you thoroughly deserve this award. Not only do you have a wonderful blog full of allsorts of information, author interviews, reviews etc, but you also deserve this award for all the incredible posts you have done to help others. You have been open and honest about your experiences as an author and at the hands of dreadful publishers, and in doing so, you have helped SO many budding writers to make the right choice for them. A guiding light in the darkness of the web! Thank you! 😀
Bows with thanks.
Lol, you’re very welcome sweetie. 🙂
Oh wow, thank you so much Sophie 🙂 I don’t know what to say – but as a very absentee and forgetful blogger myself I know exactly where you’re coming from.
So good to see you back talking to us all, keep it up and hope the long hot summer (supposedly) helps heal you completely.
Take care ❤
Yes, it’s so difficult though not to be at least slightly absent when your health gets in the way, but yes…ahem, I have become very forgetful of late. Brain mush, I’m afraid! 😀
Thank you sweetie, I look forward to seeing more of your blogging too, especially your magical ‘Castle of Dreams’ series. Happy blogging, happy sunshine honey. Take care of yourself too. 😀 xx
A belated but heartfelt thank-you from me, Sophie … though I guess it’s not as belated as your original acceptance of the award! 😀
Blogging can be so hard to maintain with all the other things that are going on in our lives. I think we can give ourselves a break and accept that even sporadic blogging is an achievement when we’re battling with day jobs/illness/family commitments/publishing commitments/unexpected emergencies/alien invasion*/all the other bits and pieces that make up everyday life … so keep up the good work!
* OK, maybe not this one so much.
Ah, huge thanks AFE Smith!! Yes, perhaps it’s a peculiar British trait that we tend to be wracked with guilt if we’re not flogging ourselves out every minute of the day! 😀
But yes, you are absolutely right, we need to give ourselves a break and think of it as an achievement if we are able to blog at all, given the stresses and strains of daily life pulling us this way and that. Cheers honey, and congrats on the well deserved nomination! 😀
Thank you for the nomination. Love that your tastes are just as varied as mine, although BOO to hating Doctor Who. 😉
Lol, I know…and I have no idea why as I love all sci-fi and fantasy, but for some reason, I’ve always disliked Dr.Who?! Strange, eh? I think it stems from liking Tom Baker’s Dr.Who then really hating the lightweight jocular doctors that followed, who really turned me off it. Hey ho, guess we’ve all got to have different tastes, I love Buffy and some people can’t stand it! 😉
Very well deserved my lovely absentee friend! 😀
Ah, but then you don’t *hate* Doctor Who, you just have a favorite Doctor. 😉 (Tom Baker is a good one. Jon Pertwee is also lots of fun.)
*grumbles* er…well…I DO like Tom Baker…but no, sorry honey, I do hate Dr.Who! I seriously can’t watch it, it drives me nuts and Jon Pertwee used to freak me out as I hated Wurzel Gummidge so much! *shudders* No, give me Loki, Thor, Man of Steel, Buffy, Starbuck, Rimmer, Babylon 5, hell…I’ll even take Mork over the Doctor and his sonic screwdriver! Sorry sweetie! 😉
Sweet blog! I found it while browsing on Yahoo News. Do you have any tips on how to
get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thank you