A little ray of sunshine in an otherwise exhausting and scummy week. I’d forgotten about these awards and the wonderful people who nominated me.

The first is the Liebster Award for which I was nominated by Susan Karins, the other I’ll talk about next time.

There seems to be far more to these awards that I remember so I will take my time over answering/generating questions.

Da Rulez

• When one receives the award, one posts 11 random facts about oneself and answers the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you.
• Pass the award onto 11 other blogs (while making sure one notifies the blogger that one nominated them!)
• One writes up 11 NEW questions directed towards YOUR nominees.
• One is not allowed to nominate the blog who nominated one’s own blog!
• One pastes the award picture into one’s blog. (You can Google the image, there are plenty of them, though look out for the rights to the image!)

Gosh, right, that’s a lot to be getting on with!

Let’s start with Susan’s 11 questions:

What is your favourite season and why?
Autumn. For sure. I’ve talked about it here, but I’ll say again, that there is enough left of Summer and little enough of Winter that I can enjoy the beautiful colours out there. And the weather, such as it ever is in this country, is pleasant enough to enjoy.

Who are your three favourite authors?
JRR Tolkien, Robert Jordan, Shaun Hutson.

Which was the last book that surprised you and why?
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did and to power through the other two as fast as I did. I really enjoyed the Katniss Everdeen character and couldn’t wait to see what happened to her next.

If your novel would be made into a movie who would you cast as your male and female lead? If you’re not a writer, who would you cast in a movie, any movie?
I love this question, but I still have trouble answering it. I guess if I work on Silk Over Razor Blades as the novel to cast, Ileandra is the female lead. The male lead is a bit trickier to pin as there are three possibilities; Nick, Tristen and Brad (and Saar). Ileandra I’d have played by a younger Naomie Harris. She has the look that means she could start weak and grow to become the strong woman we see by the end (she’s also English which is a big plus for me). Her or Brandy Norwood, before she went all Hollywood and began to straighten her hair. Think back to her Moesha days. Tristen I’d have played by Ben Barnes; I think he could pull it off so long as he lost the cute boy look. Or rather, if he could pull off ‘steamy, sexy and authoritative’ while his hair is long. Brad would have to be Liam Neeson; he could pull that off no problem (and Brad Pitt, though the age is right, is still too good looking). Nick… that’s harder; I think I’d cast Jared Padalecki into that role. He has the look and I can image him being able to pull off the ‘excited over supernatural’ aspect of Nick’s personality.

What is your favourite vacation spot?
Hmm… Venice. It was so beautiful there and the fact that there were no cars was just wonderful. I loved it! So many beautiful things to look at, funny shops and kindly people. And of course, the fact that it’s all on water is novel too.

If you would get a pet right now, what would you name him/her and why?
Squishy. I can’t help it, but Finding Nemo still sticks in my head and all I can think of is; ‘And I will call him Squishy and he will be mine. And he will be my Squishy.’ ^_^

What is your favourite TV Series?
At the moment, The Big Bang Theory. The show is a recent discovery for me but I watch it several times a day now and it’s become my go-to show when bored. Fortunately for me it’s on E4 all the time so I rarely have to wait all that long for the next episode.

Twitter fan or Twitter critic?
Fan. I luuuuurve Twitter and don’t really use it as much as I want to. I guess I can look into that in the new year; it shouldn’t be hard… I have it linked to my phone.

What was the last item you bought?
Eeeerm… a pack of four (pink and purple) plastic bowls with lids. …for the boys.

What was the best present you’ve ever received?
My boys! ^_^ Cheesy I know, but they were born two days before my birthday and even spending my birthday in the hospital was the best day ever as I got to spend it with my growing family and the two latest additions.

What is your favourite coffee table book?
The Darwin Awards. *snerk* any year, it doesn’t matter. Just reading about all the idiot things mankind is capable of amuses me no end.

Next… 11 random facts about me. Let’s see:

1. I hate crowds. Shopping is really hard for me as when I’m in a crowd I have the overwhelming urge to shove and kick people who get in my way.
2. I didn’t actually read The Lord Of The Rings until after I’d listened to the BBC Radio 4 dramatisation.
3. I have three pale birthmarks across my body; one of them I didn’t find until I was pregnant.
4. I ate several buttons in my youth. I haven’t seen them come out yet.
5. My favourite German word is zerelarian, though I may have remembered that incorrectly because having searched for it in Google Translate the word doesn’t seem to exist (I thought it meant cereal).
6. I still own machines that can play VHS tapes and cassette tapes. Oh and CDs (not my computer).
7. In early years I wanted to be a nurse (and a vet. A teacher. An actor).
8. Butterflies creep me the hell out.
9. I’ve been this height (5’8) since I was fourteen years old.
10. I think I may have broken my little toe on my right foot (maybe even twice) but I never had it diagnosed.
11. My hair is now so large and thick that I have difficulty wearing hats. Which is a real issue because I like hats.

Now, I’m conscious of the rest of the rules, but I have to say that in recent months I haven’t been able to read any blogs. I feel an overwhelming need to apologise, though I’m repeatedly told that such a thing isn’t necessary. Regardless, I’m left in a position where I’m not really able to pass the nomination. 😦

When time is more forgiving and I have more of it, I’ll return to doing these properly, however, until then, should it become relevant, I’ll say now that I follow the bare bones of the rules. Until then, thank you Susan! x