6 March 2013

The dynamic Donna Joy Usher has nominated me for the Liebster Award, a blog award that’s been doing the rounds for some years now.  Acceptance of the Award means you have to tell 11 random facts about yourself, answer a number of questions about yourself set by the person who nominated you, and then recommend others whose blogs you should read.

In the interests of brevity I’m going to do a shortened version of these instructions, but first I’m going to tell you a bit about Donna.

Donna’s a funny and talented new Australian author, and her debut novel is The Seven Steps To Closure.  Check it out on Amazon – if you like chick lit you’ll love this book.  Donna is currently working on two new series, including one to be released this year called Cocoa and Chanel.  I’ll be one of the first to buy it.  Check out Donna’s blog for an entertaining read.

Now here’s some random facts about me:

1. I’m Heinz varieties – born in Liverpool, England, brought up in Canada and New Zealand, and have lived in both the UK and US as an adult.
2. I once learnt fencing, but couldn’t get past the feeling I looked more like a teapot than a disciplined swordsman so gave up after a few lessons.
3. I’ve had a chequered career as a bakery assistant, an envelope stuffer, a librarian, a telemarketer, an assistant on a trading floor, and in a TV newsroom.  These have provided useful background for my writing.
4. I wanted to be either a hairdresser or a dance school instructor.
5. I cut my mother’s hair once before she went to a function.  It ended up being so short and lopsided she didn’t go.  That was the end of my hairdresser aspirations.
6. I can’t dance.  I thought I could learn on the job but…they didn’t hire me.
7. The highlight of my teenage years was meeting David Cassidy, of Partridge Family fame.
8. Back in those days I didn’t get out much.
9. I’ve wanted to write since I was a teenager, but I was too busy looking at magazine posters of David Cassidy to make a start.
10. I have two beautiful housemates.  Dolce is a black Great Dane, and Bronson a red Boxer.
11. I once drove away from a gas station with the gas pump still connected to my car.  It was in Los Angeles, so I didn’t seem any crazier than anyone else.

 

Next, here are the questions Donna asked me:

If you could choose to be any animal, which would you choose and why?

I’d choose to be a dog, which in a logical sense probably isn’t the best choice, given their owners treat them so variably, and unfortunately not always well.  Actually, I’d choose to be one of Donna’s dogs, because I’m sure she spoils hers as much as I do mine.

Which book have you read more than any other and why?

I’ve read the Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis, more times than I can remember.  They’re full of adventure and colour, make you believe anything’s possible, and have strong messages about love and loyalty.

If you could choose one person to totally erase from history who would it be and why?

Only one?  Really?

Tell us about the project are you currently working on and one that you are planning to start.

The book I’m currently working on is called Taking the Lead:  Adventures of a Hollywood Dog Walker.  Here’s a short blurb:

Tessa Taylor leaves her home in Washington DC to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.   But Tinseltown is tough, and the road to stardom isn’t as straightforward as she hopes it will be. Tessa has to compromise to make ends meet as she pursues the dream, and work is hard to come by in Hollywood.  She tries one job after another, and they all end in disaster.  Until one day she finds the perfect job – and the perfect group of new friends.

Hard to decide which one I’ll start after that.  The ideas are coming thick and fast, and I can’t write as fast as I can imagine.

If you won 30 million dollars in the national lottery what would you do?

Give lots of money away.  And keep writing.

What part of your body do you like the most and which do you like the least?

I have to answer my hair on both counts.  Good hair days and bad hair days are an essential part of being a woman.  Yesterday I wore a black and blue wig to work and everyone thought it was real.  Which was a good thing except for the fact that a number of people told me my new hairstyle was a great improvement on my old one…the real one.

What is the thing you are most scared of?

Not being able to think of anything to write about.

If you could swap lives with one person for a day who would you chose?

Only one?  Really?  Actually, I’d choose one of the chicklit writers that I love, to see what it feels like to be an established, talented full-time writer.  Maybe Jill Mansell, Sophie Kinsella, or Janet Evanovich.

What is the one thing that you cannot do without?

My sister.

What’s the thing you are most proud of?

My sister.

If you could choose anywhere in the world to live where would it be and why?

That’s a hard one, because I think of several places as being home.  The problem is, when I’m in one place, I miss the others.  At the moment, I’d quite like to live in England again.  I miss so many things – the galleries, the shops, the pubs, Marks & Spencer, English country gardens, quaint villages….but mostly Marks & Spencer.

 

Finally, here is the one person I’m passing the Liebster Award on to…drum roll please….

Cayman Thorn, who always has something witty to say, and who has already won more blog awards than anyone I can think of.  Check out his blog drinks well with others.  It’s always a good read.  Cayman, please answer the questions posed to me by Donna above.  Look forward to reading your Liebster Award blog.