Sunshine Blogger Award

Yesterday, I was nominated by ~H@rdip~ of Marvelous Pages for the Sunshine Blogger Award. (Waving hi!) Click the link to check out the Marvelous Pages blog.

1) Who’s your favorite book villain and why?

Good question! I love a well-written villain. Since I read a LOT, my “favorite” is constantly changing. Right now, I’d say it’s a tie between Gestalt from The Rook, written by Daniel O’Malley and Ursula Monkton from The Ocean at the End of the Lane written by Neil Gaiman.

Gestalt is cleverly written: Four separate bodies with one mind. Ursula Monkton is the stuff of a child’s nightmare.

2) What made you decide to start your blog?

I originally thought I’d create an author blog. However, I discovered that writing a novel is MUCH more difficult than writing a short story. Who knew? Umm…everyone? Anyway, over the years my blog has morphed and changed as I have. Also, I have learned that author blogs can become a little spammy. (The “Buy my book!” blog gets really old if that’s all it is.)

3) How do you decide which book to read next?

Great question! I like variety. I try to balance my reading between non-fiction and fiction. I also like to balance between books written for teens/tweens and books written for adults. So if I just got done reading a book geared towards adults, my next read will probably be either a non-fiction or a young adult novel.

4) What’s your favorite kind of blog post to read?

I enjoy reading blogs that open up my world. This means I like seeing photos from places I’ve never been, or blog posts about books I might like to read, or hobbies that seem interesting, or artwork that brings beauty to my day. I do subscribe to a few writing blogs and author blogs. However, I don’t read the ones that are spammy.

5) What’s your favorite kind of blog post to write?

I love the posts that resonate with others—the ones that make other people say, “Me too! I’m going through the same thing.”

6) Is there a book you wish you’d never read?

All books teach SOMETHING. Some books teach: “How NOT to write a novel.”

7) Do you prefer to do your book shopping and browsing online or in a bookshop?

I love bookstores, but I purchase most of my books digitally through Amazon. However, most of my reading material—the books I actively consume—are from my local library.

8) What’s your all-time favorite book?

I don’t have ONE favorite book. I do have favorite authors: Neil Gaiman and Daniel O’Malley are on this list, but so is Louise Penny, Jim Butcher, Amy Stewart, Daniel Kraus, Mary Roach, Michael Crichton, and Barbara Kingsolver. And that barely starts my list! Did I mention I read a LOT?  LOL

9) What’s your favorite comfort food?

Coffee, chocolate, mashed potatos…not necessarily together or at the same time. LOL

10) If you were writing a book, what would it be about?

I’m writing a supernatural, coming of age story for young adults.

11) Which book character do you hate to love & love to hate?

I love villains—or heroes—who don’t know they’re the villain. I love it when they screw up the story in their efforts to “do the right thing.” They’re the bad guy/gal, but they don’t know it. It’s smart storytelling.

Well, this was fun! If you’d like to participate:

THE RULES:

Thank the blogger who nominated you by linking their blog.

Answer the questions.

Nominate 11 blogs with 11 questions. If you are reading this post, consider yourself nominated. Or not. No judgments. Some of you may like to answer posts like this one, other people do not. Oh! And you can answer THESE questions, or make up your own. It’s all good!

List the rules as well as display the Sunshine Award Logo on your post.

Thank you so much, ~H@rdip~ of Marvelous Pages, for this award and have a wonderful day!

xo Juli